Death Eater's Child
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: What if Harry had a good friend while he was at the Dursleys' and was able to gain a family with a sister, who was magical as well, a Death Eater's child. Completely AU, neglect!Dursleys, adoption, partly OOC, sick!Harry
1. Two Small Freaks

**Death Eater's Child - by Healer Pomfrey  
**

**1 - Two Small Freaks  
**

While Harry grew up unloved and neglected by the Dursleys, he had one friend, a really good friend in fact. Her name was Brianna Mackenzie, and she was living next door to the Dursleys together with her mother Kathy. Just like Harry, Brianna was an outsider and had no friends, except for Harry. The two children knew each other since they could walk and play outside in the garden and on the street. They couldn't tell a reason, but both of them felt strangely attracted to each other. It was only at the age of five, when Harry observed her jump onto a very high branch of a tree when Dudley tried to catch and beat her, that he realised that she was a freak just like himself.

"Brianna, you're a freak like me. You do strange things too," he said, terrified for his friend, throwing the girl a sympathetic smile.

Brianna looked at him in surprise. "That's great, Harry. Can you do things like that too? Is that why Dudley and your aunt always call you 'Freak'?"

"Yes," Harry replied quietly.

"Harry, we can do things that the others can't. That's just great! I don't think it's bad."

"Um... right," Harry had to admit. "I'm so glad you're like me."

From that time onwards, the two children became inseparable. Even at school, they were always together, and if one or the other teacher made the grave mistake of trying to separate them for a while, the teachers always ended up spiking colourful hair, causing them to never again try separating these two children.

Brianna's mother, who worked at home translating technical texts for a company, was very happy for her daughter to have such a good friend, especially since the girl was growing up without her father, whom she didn't even know because she had been raped by an unknown man at that time. '_The man must have been a wizard_,' she realised when Brianna told her excitedly that both Harry and she could do strange things like colour their teachers' hair.

The Dursleys on the other hand forbade Harry to be together with Brianna after Dudley had told them that she was a freak like Harry.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

One day, Brianna invited Harry to come to their house on Sunday, because her mother wanted to take her to the zoo together with Harry. Harry was very excited, and he was looking forward to meeting Brianna on Sunday very much, because normally the weekends were very boring, since the Dursleys always locked him into his cupboard to have him out of the way.

On Friday evening, he excitedly told his aunt and uncle about the invitation, asking them to let him out on Sunday morning, so he could be out of their way for the whole day.

"Don't even think about spending a whole day with another freak!" his Uncle Vernon roared. "You will stay in your cupboard and won't infest anyone with your freakishness, and if I hear another word about that girl, I'll beat it out of you." With that Harry was thrown into his cupboard without dinner.

On Sunday morning, Harry heard the bell ring and got all his hopes up that the Mackenzies would perhaps manage to pull him out of the cupboard; however, his hope was destroyed quickly as Petunia told them in a false, gentle voice that Harry had unfortunately fallen ill and couldn't join them that day.

Soon afterwards, Vernon opened the door to the cupboard and shouted, "Tell your freakish friends not to bother us again. Do you understand me, boy?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry replied in a small voice.

On Monday morning, Harry met up with Brianna on their way to school like every morning. It was raining cats and dogs, and while Vernon was driving Dudley to school, Harry had to walk. Brianna was holding an umbrella and quickly handed Harry a second one, which she had brought for him, frowning as she took in his already drenched form. "Here; I brought an umbrella for you, but you are already wet, aren't you? How can they let you leave like that after being sick over the weekend?"

Harry merely threw her a sad look and let out a sneeze, frowning as he noticed that she stared into his eyes. Suddenly, the events of Friday evening and the weekend played in front of his mind. "So you weren't sick, and the Dursleys only lied, because they didn't want you to spend time with Mum and me. So they locked you into a cupboard the whole weekend!" she exclaimed angrily. "I'll tell you something. Come home with me after school. You can stay with us."

"Thank you," Harry replied in a small voice, shivering violently in his wet clothes.

Unfortunately, the Dursleys always neglected Harry when he caught a cold or became sick otherwise, and this neglect of his illnesses had already caused his immune system to weaken, so that he fell ill easily. Even if Harry couldn't understand the reason why he became sick every second week, he knew exactly that he had to hide it from everyone, because otherwise the Dursleys would get very angry, and Aunt Petunia wouldn't take it lightly to be called to the school to collect him because he had a fever. The nurse had already called her too many times.

Neither Brianna nor Harry's teacher were surprised when Harry was slumped in his seat, playing with his meagre meal at lunch time. His eyes were glazed over, and beads of sweat were covering his forehead.

"Harry, you're really ill. Let me take you to the nurse," Brianna whispered, knowing how much Harry hated to get everyone's attention.

"No," Harry whispered back, "I told you how the Dursleys reacted when she called them the last time. It was no fun."

"Then we'll ask her to call my Mum. She can fetch you home and look after you," Brianna insisted.

"Exactly," the teacher spoke up gently, placing a cold hand on Harry's forehead. "Let's take you to the infirmary, Harry. Maybe it'll help to lie down for a while."

A short while later, Harry found himself in the infirmary, begging the nurse not to call his aunt. "Harry, lie down here on the bed and let me check on you first. Then we'll see what we're going to do," the nurse replied softly.

"Come here, Harry," Brianna called out and carefully helped him onto a bed, unaware of the fact that the adults were watching them with amusement. "Open up and keep it under your tongue," she ordered him when the nurse tried to coax a thermometer under his tongue.

"He has an upper respiratory tract infection," the nurse informed the teacher. "I'll let him use the inhaler and give him something for the fever; however, considering how high his fever is, he should get antibiotics, for which a doctor's prescription is needed. Therefore, I have to contact his legal guardians."

Harry silently began to cry as he heard the nurse talk to Aunt Petunia. '_She'll be so mad at me_,' he thought, unable to keep the tears back.

"You cannot come and fetch him?" the nurse asked angrily. "Well, then please give me your permission, so I can take him to the hospital myself. If this infection remains untreated, it's likely to turn into pneumonia. No? Oh well, you'll hear from me again." With that she angrily finished the conversation.

"Mrs. Dursley can't fetch him, because she's just going to leave for an appointment. He has to come home when school is over, and she's going to take him to the doctor tomorrow if necessary," the nurse told the teacher.

"Let's call Mrs. Mackenzie," the teacher decided, and called Brianna's mother, who came immediately to take Harry home.

"Frankly speaking I'm ready to call Child services," the nurse said angrily as she once more took Harry's temperature. "He gets sick much too often, and I have the impression as if his aunt wouldn't even try to improve his condition."

The three women agreed to observe Petunia's handling of Harry's current illness, and Kathy Mackenzie took Harry home. She made him lie down on the bed in the guest room, tucking him in gently. "Try to sleep for a while, sweetie; I'll be here and check on you from time to time," she said softly, gently bathing his flushed face with a cool cloth.

"Feels good," Harry mumbled, unconsciously leaning into the cool touch as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

He woke up a few hours later to Brianna and Kathy speaking right next to him. "Harry, how are you feeling?" his friend's voice penetrated his ears.

"Fine," he mumbled, realising that he felt horrible, if not even worse than before.

"I don't believe that," Kathy said, placing a cold hand on his forehead. "Harry, let me quickly check your temperature, and then I'll take you back home to your relatives."

Feeling too bad to protest, Harry merely opened his mouth and closed it around the icy stick, shutting his eyes in exhaustion.

"His fever is still going up," he heard Kathy tell Brianna in obvious concern. "Harry, can you listen to me for a moment please?"

Harry cracked his eyes open, blearily looking at Brianna's mother. "I'm sorry for being such a burden," he croaked, causing the woman to shake her head.

"You're not a burden," Brianna protested vehemently, "neither to Mum, nor to anyone else."

"Harry, I'm going to give you something," Kathie explained, showing him two cordless phones. "These two are like a walky-talky. They only work up to a distance of three hundred metres, but that's enough for us. I'll call you tomorrow afternoon. Your phone will make a small sound, and then you switch it on here and speak to me. You'll tell me if your aunt took you to the doctor, what he said and how you feel. Do you understand me? If your relatives don't take you to the doctor, I'll speak with your teacher and the nurse at school, and we're going to call Child services to help you. Be careful that you don't let the Dursleys see the phone."

"Of course," Harry croaked. "Thank you so much for your help."

HP

Exactly twenty-four hours later, Harry admitted to Brianna's mother that his relatives had neither checked on him, nor brought him to the doctor. He hadn't even seen any of them since Kathy had taken him home the previous day.

"How are you feeling, sweetie? And I want an honest answer please. Don't give me 'fine'," Kathy said sternly. "Worse or better?"

"Worse," Harry admitted quietly, "can't breathe well."

"Hold on, Harry, you'll hear from us later today," Kathy promised and hurried to the school to fetch Brianna and speak with her teacher and the nurse.

The nurse immediately called the police as well as Child services, and twenty minutes later, Kathy, Brianna, the nurse, Harry's teacher, two police officers and a man and a woman from Child services were standing in front of the Dursleys' door.

The officers of Child services interrogated Petunia, before they asked the nurse to check on Harry. When she reported that his infection had proceeded into pneumonia due to the neglect by his guardians and Harry confirmed that they hadn't even given him anything to eat or drink during the last twenty-four hours, the officers of Child services decided to withdraw the Dursleys' guardianship rights instantly.

"We're going to have a trial against the Dursleys as soon as possible," the man from Child services explained to the others. "So far, we have to take the boy with us."

_

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tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Practising Magic

**2 – Practising Magic**

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. Please allow me a few words at the beginning. Severus Snape will play one of the major roles in this story; however, only from chapter five onwards. This chapter two is a very long chapter (originally intended as two chapters), because I assume that you want Brianna and Harry to get to Hogwarts as fast as possible - therefore the fast update as well... Enjoy!_

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The man from Child services looked at the terrified faces and continued in a gentle voice, "On the other hand, seeing how sick the boy is, I'd prefer to leave him with Mrs. Mackenzie, provided the school nurse is willing to look after him from time to time." Everyone looked questioningly at the nurse and Kathy.

"I can only make sure that his condition improves if we can get a prescription for antibiotics," the nurse replied urgently.

"Of course you may take him to a doctor right away," the woman from Child services agreed immediately.

HP

In the early evening, Harry found himself back in the guest room of the Mackenzies' home, knowing that Brianna's mother had gained the temporary guardianship over him. Although he felt absolutely miserable, he was very happy to be with Brianna and her mother. The school nurse had even promised to look in on him once a day to make sure his condition improved. During the next few days, Harry remained very ill and slept most of the time, until he finally began to feel better.

One day, Harry woke up to voices next to his bed. When he lazily opened his eyes, he noticed that apart from Brianna and her mother, his school teacher and the school nurse were at his side.

"Harry, the trial against the Dursleys is going to take place today. Are you feeling well enough to join us?"

"Yes," Harry replied, frightened. "Will they question me as well?"

Kathy sat on the edge of his bed, next to her daughter. "I'm afraid they'll question you, sweetie, and it's very important that you tell the truth. Don't forget that it was your aunt's duty to look after you and that you're not a burden to anyone."

"Harry, if you begin to feel unwell during the trial, you must tell us immediately," the nurse said strictly as she proceeded to check his temperature.

"We'll all be with you, and we're all going to tell them what we know, Harry. You're not alone in this," his teacher said soothingly, causing Harry to throw her a weak smile.

"He is still running a slight temperature," the nurse said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should ask them to question Harry first, so that we can bring him back home and take turns being with him."

"Let's do that," Kathy agreed, glad that the teacher and the nurse firmly supported her and Harry and that the people from Child service had managed to get a trial on a Saturday, so they could all participate.

Fortunately, the judge was a very kind man, who had children of his own. He questioned Harry in a very gentle way and kept the interrogation short when it became evident that Harry wasn't feeling overly well. He also placed a few questions at Brianna, which the girl answered straight away, before he asked the nurse about Harry, his condition and his relationship to the Dursleys. Afterwards, the nurse was allowed to take Harry and Brianna back to the Mackenzies' home.

It was nearly dinnertime when Kathy and the teacher joined them, accompanied by the two people from Child service. "Harry, the Dursleys have been sent to prison," the woman informed him gently. "Therefore, we're going to either appoint a new guardian for you or take you in ourselves and put you into a children's home. Is there anyone whom you would like to become your guardian?"

Harry suddenly felt as if his throat was completely constricted and he was unable to bring a word out. He helplessly glanced at Brianna and her mother, noticing in relief that Kathy smiled at him, gently nodding her head. "You have to say it, sweetie," she said softly.

"I... I'd like Mrs. Mackenzie to become my guardian," Harry finally replied in a hardly audible voice, causing the adults to smile.

"Mrs. Mackenzie, are you willing to accept the permanent guardianship over Harry Potter?" the woman from Child service asked gently.

"Of course, I'd love to become Harry Potter's guardian," Kathy replied, still smiling.

"Very well then; we'll arrange everything. Mrs. Mackenzie, please come to our office on Monday, so we can deal with the formalities for the permanent guardianship over Harry," the man from Child service said gently.

Two days later, Kathy Mackenzie officially became seven-year-old Harry Potter's guardian. Needless to say Brianna and Harry were absolutely delighted. For the first time since Harry could remember he had a real family, and Brianna was happy to have a brother.

Harry became quickly used to living together with Kathy and Brianna; however, whenever he and Brianna left the house, he threw an anxious glance at the Dursleys' residence, afraid to possibly meet his uncle. '_At least Brianna is always with me and can get help_,' he mused and tried to dismiss his fears instead of voicing them to Kathy and Brianna. Only when Harry fell ill again a few weeks later, Kathy became aware of his fears as she sat on the edge of his bed, trying to calm him from his fever induced nightmares.

"Harry, are you afraid of the Dursleys?" she queried in the morning, when Harry was much more lucid.

"A bit," he admitted in a small voice, causing Kathy to gently stroke his flushed cheeks.

"Harry, I'm sorry that we didn't talk about the matter earlier," she said softly. "The Dursleys won't be able to harm you. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dursley are in some kind of prison for ten years, and their son Dudley is living with his aunt now. Did you not notice that he didn't come to school anymore?"

"Oh right, we noticed that, but we thought the Dursleys might have taken him off our school, so we couldn't infest him with our freakishness," Brianna laughed, causing Harry to smile as well.

"Oh, my two silly freaks," Kathy laughed, pulling both of them into a hug.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

With Dudley gone, the other children at school began to behave better towards Brianna and Harry, although most of them still remained a bit reserved towards them, since one or the other managed to do strange things from time to time.

One evening, Brianna and Harry were sitting in the living room, talking, while Kathy was in her office working. "Harry," Brianna spoke up thoughtfully. "This morning, you made the chalk hover over to me, didn't you? I wasn't sure if it was me or you, but..."

"That was me," Harry chuckled. "You seemed to panic because Peter was faster, so I thought..."

"But that means you did it on purpose!" Brianna exclaimed. "Harry, we need to practise this. Imagine if we could do such things whenever we wanted to!"

"That's a good idea," Harry replied pensively, "I think I just looked at the chalk and ordered it to hover over to you."

"You ordered it?" Brianna chuckled, looking at the jar with biscuits that was standing on the sideboard. "Please come over here, so I can take a biscuit!"

Harry groaned in exasperation. "No, Brianna; you have to concentrate on the jar and imagine all the way how it flies over to you," he said thoughtfully as he tried to remember how he had made the chalk move earlier. "Let me try." He stared at the jar and wished it to come over to him, noticing that it was very tiring while he watched the jar slowly hovering towards him, before it landed on the table with a small thud.

"Wow, Harry; that was absolutely brilliant!" Brianna commended him in amazement. "You have to show that Mum. That was fantastic."

"Oh, that was pure luck," Harry replied, blushing terribly. "Do you want to try and move it back?"

"Not before I've taken a biscuit. Do you want one?"

Harry agreed, and together they munched all the remaining biscuits. "Oops, we ate them all," Harry suddenly realised, throwing Brianna a hesitant look.

"Oh well, they were really nice," she chuckled. "All right then, I'll try to put that thing back."

"You really have to concentrate on it," Harry warned her, "and it's very tiring."

"Okay," Brianna replied and tried to concentrate on the jar, which indeed took a few centimetres into the air and began to move towards the edge of the table. However, shortly before reaching the sideboard, the movement stopped and the jar crashed onto the floor.

"Oh no!" Harry gasped, terrified. "I'm sorry, Brianna. We should have used a biscuit to practise not the jar that belongs to your mother. Stay away from the pieces for a moment." He knelt down on the floor and concentrated on the pieces and the form the jar had before. '_Oh, this is difficult_,' he mused, realising that the pieces of glass were moving in circles through the air, apparently with no intention of sticking together again. He tried his best to make the pieces stick together, barely noticing that at least one of the pieces hit his face, before the world around him became black and he collapsed on the floor.

HP

When Harry's mind slowly turned back to awareness, he opened his eyes, noticing in confusion that he was lying on the sofa with Brianna and Kathy sitting next to him, watching him in utmost concern.

"What happened?" he asked, only to remember the events as soon as the words left his mouth.

"We don't know. You repaired the jar, and then you collapsed," Brianna blurted out in concern. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," Harry mumbled, trying to ignore the headache that seemed to get worse by the minute.

"Harry!" Kathy said sternly, causing the boy to look at her. "Please don't lie to us. You were unconscious for a few minutes, which certainly didn't happen because you were _fine_. I don't know, but is it possible that whatever you did to repair the jar was too strenuous?"

Harry looked at his guardian, startled. '_It's so strange that she doesn't hate us for being able to do funny things like the Dursleys always hated me, although she can't do anything strange_.' "Did I really manage to repair the jar? I mean... It was very difficult. I had to concentrate very hard, and then one piece hit me on the forehead." He slowly raised a hand to his forehead. "Ouch."

Kathy threw him a terrified look. "Here, let me see." She gently pulled his fringe upwards, letting out a gasp. "Oh my God, Harry. Well, you have a scratch, but that's not too bad. I'll put something on it to prevent it from getting infected in a minute. However, you're burning up." She gently felt around his neck and touched the inner side of his hands, before she quietly instructed Brianna to fetch the thermometer, which she coaxed into Harry's mouth. While they were waiting for the reading to register, she gently treated the wound on Harry's forehead. "Harry, you're running a high fever," she said after taking the thermometer back. "It can't be so high just because of the small cut on your forehead. Therefore, I assume that it's because you overdid yourself when you tried to mend the jar."

"Probably," Harry admitted in a small voice. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, sweetie; however, you have to be more careful the next time. That applies to you too, Brianna."

"Yes Mum."

Harry had to spend a day in bed, before his fever slowly came down and Kathy reluctantly allowed him to go back to school. "Harry, I want you to wait for at least a few days, before you do anything funny again," she said sternly. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Harry promised.

However, as soon as a week was over, Harry and Brianna began to practise doing funny things again, although they watched each other closely to prevent the other from getting as sick as Harry had been for two days.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

A week before the beginning of the summer holidays, Brianna's and Harry's teacher called Kathy. "Thank you for coming, Mrs. Mackenzie. I just wanted to inform you that someone from Child service came to see me yesterday. He enquired about Harry's grades as well as his behaviour etc. at school."

"What does that mean?" Kathy asked, clearly shocked. So far, she had believed that everything was as fine as it could be.

"Ah, don't worry, Mrs. Mackenzie. Everything is all right. I just wanted you to know that they haven't forgotten Harry. His grades have improved greatly, he gets along with the other children much better than before, and even if he falls sick as often as before, which can't be helped, he recovers much faster than during his time with the Dursleys. Brianna's marks have improved too, by the way, and Harry and Brianna are top of their class in nearly all subjects."

"Oh, thank God. Did you tell that the man from Child service?"

"Of course," the teacher replied, smiling. "I'm very proud of the two of them."

"Thank you very much," Kathy replied gratefully and returned home, pondering how she could reward the children for their good grades.

The next day was a Saturday, and Kathy took the children to the Animals Centre, which was a huge playground, a thirty minutes' drive away. It consisted of several huge animal attractions, which the children could climb to slide down the whole way by several kinds of slides. They could also ride various kinds of vehicles throughout the centre and do many more things. Brianna and Harry enjoyed themselves a lot, and on their way back in the car, they begged Kathy to take them to the centre again during the summer holidays.

Kathy laughed as she looked at the excited faces in the back mirror. "I'm glad you had so much fun. Well, you should think about what you want us to do on your birthdays anyway. We can go back to the Animals Centre, if that's what you want."

Brianna let out a huge sigh. "Mum, I have been thinking about this for a while now, but couldn't Harry and I change our birthdays to one common birthday? I mean, instead of the first and the thirty-first of July, we could both take for example the fifteenth as our birthday, couldn't we? Everyone would think we were twins; that'd be so funny!"

"Oh yeah, that's a cool idea!" Harry agreed immediately, causing Kathy to laugh.

'_A funny idea indeed_,' she mused. In fact, the children looked very much alike. Both of them had a pale colour of skin and completely black hair, although Harry's hair was short and messy and Brianna's long and straight. The only real difference was the colour of their eyes. While Harry had emerald green eyes, Brianna's eyes were dark blue. "You would surely pass as twins," she chuckled.

"Oh please let's do that then, and could we also change Harry's name, so we'll be really twins?" Brianna begged her mother.

"Oh Brianna, let's talk about this again during the holidays," Kathy replied, feeling very uncertain about the topic. During the last few months, she had often played with the thought of adopting Harry; however, she didn't know how he thought about the matter, and the least thing she wanted to do was to hurt his feelings by suggesting something stupid.

However, she didn't have to wait until the holidays to be able to make a decision. Three days after their excursion to the Animals Centre, she woke up in the middle of the night to a small figure standing next to her bed, whispering, "Mummy, I don't feel good."

Kathy instinctively pulled the child up into her bed and covered him with her own covers, just like she would have done if it was Brianna. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked worriedly, carefully feeling his forehead that felt very hot. Seeing that he already drifted back to sleep, she decided not to check on him or make him take medicine but let him sleep. She lay down, cuddling the child close as she pondered what he had called her earlier. '_Well, that was probably his high fever speaking_,' she mused but still couldn't help feeling happy that he had felt comfortable enough to come to her in the middle of the night.

During the following few days, while Harry remained very ill with a high fever, he called Kathy 'Mummy' several times; however, Kathy realised soon that it always happened when he was extremely tired or his fever was spiking. '_We should still speak about it_,' Kathy decided and hesitantly began to talk about the matter, when they were all sitting in the living room one evening.

"Harry, do you remember what you called me when you had the flu last week?" she asked softly, throwing the boy an encouraging smile.

Harry blushed deeply as he remembered what he had said in his half-conscious state when he had been sick. He threw Kathy a horrified look. "I'm sorry, Kathy. I didn't mean to offend you. I don't know why..."

"Oh sweetie," Kathy sighed. "You don't have to be sorry for that. In fact, I loved it and I have been thinking for a while if I should adopt you and make you my real son. Would you like that?"

Harry was stunned. Someone wanted to have him, Harry, the freak, the nuisance. He threw Brianna a helpless look as tears began to fill his eyes. Brianna was smiling broadly at him, somehow making him feel very reassured. "I... I'd like that very much," he replied quietly, averting his eyes to the floor.

"Yay! Now we can be twins," Brianna shouted excitedly and ran over to pull him in a bear hug.

"Cool," Harry replied happily. "Hey, I can't breathe. If you go on like that, you won't have a brother for long."

In the morning, Kathy phoned Child service to enquire about the adoption, and she was told it wasn't a problem at all and she should go straight to the registration office. The woman even promised to write a recommendation letter, which they could pick up on the way.

Later the same day, Kathy and the children went to the registration office after picking up the recommendation. "I'd like to adopt my ward, Harry Potter, change his surname and if possible change his birthday to the fifteenth of July. I'd also like to change my daughter's birthday to the fifteenth of July."

The woman looked at the children and chuckled. "Apart from the colour of their eyes, they look like twins indeed. '_Harry Potter_' you said?" she then asked, frowning as she looked into the monitor. "Hmm."

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tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Two Hogwarts Letters

**3 – Two Hogwarts Letters**

"Yes, Harry Potter," Kathy replied worriedly.

"Hmm," the lady in the registration office repeated thoughtfully, "there is a strange symbol behind his name, so I probably shouldn't change anything about his identification, but I'm not exactly sure what it means, and considering that you have the recommendation from Child office, I will change his data according to your wishes. Let me just ask him a few questions."

"Harry, would you like Mrs. Mackenzie to adopt you?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Why is that?"

Harry frowned. "Since I was very small, she has always been like a mother to me. She always helped me and looked after me if my guardians wouldn't."

"Would you like to change your name to Harry Mackenzie?"

"Yes please."

"Do you want me to change your date of birth?"

"If that's possible."

Twenty minutes later, Kathy and the newborn twins left the building. '_Double trouble_,' Kathy mused, glancing proudly at her two children. '_I wonder what the strange mark was the woman was talking about and why we weren't supposed to change Harry's data. Maybe we should have altered his first name too_.'

However, the weeks and months and even three years passed without anything happening because of the name change, and the three Mackenzies forgot about the matter.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

It was on the twins' eleventh birthday that Harry dashed into the kitchen with two identical envelopes in his hand. "Mum, there are letters for Brianna and me," he said surprised, holding the envelopes out for his mother."

Kathy turned them around, gasping as she read the back. "Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." She looked at Harry wide-eyed. "I didn't even know there was such a school."

"Nor did I," Harry replied excitedly, taking one of the envelopes back to read his letter. "Wow! May we go and attend that school, Mum?" he asked, before he ran out of the room and shouted, "Brianna, come here quickly!"

"Oh Mum, please!" his sister begged her mother mere minutes later.

Kathy sighed. "Well, the problem is that it doesn't say in the letter how much the school fees are. We have to write back and ask. If we can somehow afford it, you may go of course. Is there a return address?"

"No, it only says '_We expect your owl by the thirty-first of Jul_y'," Brianna read, frowning.

"Nothing easier than that," Harry replied, chuckling as he pointed out to the windowsill outside the kitchen. "There is an owl, and it looks as if it was waiting for a letter."

Indeed, the brown barn owl was looking straight through the window, apparently assessing their reactions.

"Well, I know the letters came for you, but I'm going to reply," Kathy decided and fetched paper and a pen.

'_Dear Professor McGonagall, thank you for inviting my children to your school. Both children would love to attend your school; however, I need to enquire about the school fees and conditions, before we can decide anything. I'd also appreciate some information about where we can buy the items on the shopping lists, since I am not magical and don't know where to buy these things. Thank you for your help in advance, sincerely, Kathy Mackenzie_.'

She quickly wrote the envelope and handed Harry the letter. "Can you ask the owl to bring this to Hogwarts, sweetie?"

"I'll try," Harry laughed as he opened the window. "Hey beautiful," he softly addressed the owl. "Would you be willing to take this letter to Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts?"

The owl stretched out her left foot, and Harry carefully fastened the letter, observing in amazement as the bird took off straight away.

"Wow," Brianna said, "Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday, twin."

"Happy Birthday, Brianna!" Harry replied, chuckling.

"All right then, Brianna, Harry, shall we have breakfast and think about how to spend the day afterwards?" Kathy suggested, watching the excited children in amusement. "Originally, I intended to take you to the zoo, but considering that it's raining cats and dogs, we should probably postpone that plan.

"Um, Mum, do you think we'll receive a reply today?" Harry queried, glancing towards the window.

Kathy sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but I have no idea where Hogwarts is. If it's near London, you might get a response quickly, but if it's farer away, it might take a few days."

"I have an idea," Brianna suddenly spoke up. "Let's go to... Oh, I forgot the name, but you know the street with the many old bookshops, the second hand bookshops. Maybe they have magical books like our school books."

"That might be possible," Kathy said thoughtfully. "All right then, let's go to London today."

In the first three bookshops they couldn't find anything about magic and were just about to leave the fourth shop when Harry found something in the farthest corner. "Look, here are many interesting books," he said, looking at a book, '_Hogwarts: A History_.' "This really is about the school," he confirmed in excitement.

"Oh that's good, and look at this one!" '_Potions through the Ages_.' Brianna excitedly pulled an old tome out of the shelf.

"Just take with you what you want," the owner of the bookshop said as he walked by. "No one is interested in these books, and they're only taking up space."

Several hours later, Kathy and the children walked back to the car, carrying a whole shelf of books concerning various topics of the magical world with them. "Thank God we came by car and didn't take the bus today," Kathy sighed as they settled their heavy weight into the boot.

"That's absolutely fantastic," Brianna said excitedly, "and everything for free!"

"Well done; it was a good idea to come here," Harry admitted, grinning.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Brianna, Harry and Kathy spent the rest of their birthday skimming the books they had received. "Let me tell you something," Kathy suddenly spoke up, pointing to the first page of an old tome. "These books might be quite valuable. This one is of 1897, and it contains many old potions recipes as well as newly invented ones. The one here seems to be of the same series and is about new Charms in comparison to ancient charms. Of course I don't know anything about magic, but I think you may consider yourselves very lucky. Now, what do you think about eating your birthday cake?"

"Yes!" Brianna and Harry shouted simultaneously, abandoning the books on the living room floor for the moment. While they were enjoying the raspberry cheese cake Kathy had made early in the morning, their eyes kept wandering to the window, where they expected the old barn owl to show up any minute. However, no bird came into sight. Instead, the door bell rang just when they finished the last crumps of their cake.

Kathy went to open the door, surprised to see an elder lady standing in front of it. She had dark brown hair that was tightly fastened in a bun and was wearing a dark green one-piece with a pattern of white flowers.

"I'm sorry to disturb you without advance notice," the lady apologized. "I am Minerva McGonagall."

"Oh, come in, Professor McGonagall. My children will be so pleased to meet you. They have been watching out for another owl from Hogwarts the whole afternoon," Kathy said, smiling at the elder lady, motioning her into the living room. "I'm sorry for the mess here," she apologized and told the professor what happened in the bookshop the same morning, before she addressed the children. "Brianna, Harry, this is Professor McGonagall."

The twins jumped up, looking wide-eyed at the stern looking woman. "I'm glad to meet you, Professor," Brianna was the first to speak.

"Thank you for coming, Professor. This is my twin sister Brianna, and I'm Harry," Harry explained shyly, glancing at Kathy, who threw him an appreciative look.

"I came to make an appointment with you, so I could take you shopping for your school books and other items required at Hogwarts," McGonagall explained in a voice that was much gentler than the twins would have expected from the woman's expression.

They quickly agreed to go to the town on the following day. "Mrs. Mackenzie, I'd appreciate if you joined us; however, it is not necessary. Many non magical parents don't want to have anything to do with the wizarding world."

"Oh well, then I am different," Kathy replied, smiling. "Since my children are both magical, I am very interested in everything concerning the wizarding world, especially as they're only just eleven, and I'll probably be better able to help them if I know a little about your world."

"Very well, I appreciate it very much, Mrs. Mackenzie. Now, Brianna and Harry, I'd like to speak with your mother in private for a moment," McGonagall said sternly, throwing a curious glance at Brianna, before her sharp eyes lingered on Harry until the children left the room.

"Please excuse me for being nosy," McGonagall hesitantly turned back to Kathy, "but does your son Harry by chance have anything to do with a certain Harry Potter?"

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews! My muse appreciates them very much :-)  
_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Surprise for a Witch

**4 – Surprise for a Witch**

Kathy took in a sharp breath. "Harry Potter is Harry's birth name. Why are you asking, Professor?"

McGonagall sighed and explained everything about Harry Potter to the stunned woman, who in turn told the professor about Harry's life with the Dursleys.

"Thank you so much for taking Harry in," McGonagall said after hearing the whole story. "I'm so glad and relieved he found such a nice family. I knew his parents very well, and I didn't appreciate it at all when the Headmaster left him with his relatives, but I wasn't in a position to do anything against it. I wasn't even allowed to check on him the whole time. Maybe it's good that you changed his name and his birthday, but still he might be recognised because of his scar."

"We have one problem concerning Harry, which is the reason why I'm not very pleased to send the children to a boarding school," Kathy began thoughtfully, glad that she was able to speak with the professor in private. "Due to the neglect by his relatives, his immune system suffered greatly and his health condition is not good. He becomes sick very often and easily. For example, if we go into town today, I can tell you now that he'll be sick with the flu or another illness by the day after tomorrow. Sometimes, he only has to take a shower to end up with a cold and breathing problems the following day. An additional problem is that the Dursleys forbade him to tell anyone when he was sick, so that he normally tries to hide if he feels unwell. Only if he feels extremely bad, he comes to me without being forced by his sister. Brianna and I as well as his school teacher and the school nurse always have to keep an eye on him."

"Hmmm, maybe I should ask Madam Pomfrey, our Mediwitch, to check on him. Sometimes, illnesses can be treated much easier with magic than with Muggle means. Oh, I'm sorry, 'Muggle' means non magical," McGonagall explained quickly and glanced around the room. "Mrs. Mackenzie, is this fireplace by chance connected to the magical Floo network?"

"The flu network?" Kathy asked incredulously.

McGonagall smirked. "The magical world uses fireplaces as transportation and communication method. The fireplaces are connected through the so-called Floo network. If you're interested, I can ask our Headmaster to connect your place to the fireplace in my office at Hogwarts, even to our Mediwitch's office if you wish. That way, your fireplace wouldn't be connected to the open Floo network but only to certain fireplaces at our school. However, we would be able to inform you faster if Harry or Brianna had any problems at school."

"Yes please," Kathy agreed, deciding that she could rely on the professor.

McGonagall quickly prepared a mental note to the Headmaster, and a few seconds later, Kathy observed a tiny white bird emerge from the woman's wand and vanish into thin air. "It might take a few minutes," the professor said as she pointed her wand at the fireplace. "Mrs. Mackenzie, there is one more point we have to speak about," she remembered and told Kathy that she wasn't allowed to speak about the magical world with any other non magical person.

"I understand and I promise to keep the matter for me," Kathy replied immediately.

"Mrs. Mackenzie, would you mind me asking something very private?" McGonagall queried and seeing Kathy nod continued, "Your daughter's father...?"

Kathy sighed and confided to the older woman how a bunch of men in black clothes had kidnapped her and three other young women and what happened afterwards.

"I'm very sorry for you," McGonagall replied, clearly shocked, before she added, "I'm glad that you don't despise the magical world because of your experiences. They were bad wizards, who worked for the man, who murdered Harry's parents."

Kathy threw the professor a shocked look. "Harry doesn't even know what happened to them. His aunt seems to have told him they died in a car crash. Professor, would you be willing to tell him at a later time?"

"Of course," McGonagall replied gently, "the poor boy. Thank God he has a proper family now."

"Thank you so much, Professor. Concerning Brianna's father, I only realised that he had to be a wizard when she developed her abilities at the age of five."

McGonagall sighed. "I don't know if it consoles you, but the man, even if he was a Death Eater, a bad wizard, must have been a gentle man. Normally, no woman survives such a night."

"He was indeed very gentle, and he even apologized, before he let me go. He said he had been forced to do what he did and that he was supposed to kill me but since no one would know he'd let me go," Kathy said, trying hard to keep the tears back that threatened to spill from her eyes.

At that moment, the fireplace flared green and the face of an old man appeared in the flames. "Minerva?"

"Hello Albus, thank you very much," McGonagall replied and turned back to Kathy. "This is our Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. Your fireplace is now connected to... where exactly, Albus?"

"Good evening, Mrs. Mackenzie. To Professor McGonagall's, Madam Pomfrey's and my office," Dumbledore replied, before he ended the connection.

"Very impressive," Kathy smirked. "How do I do that?"

"Shall we call Madam Pomfrey to ask her about checking on Harry?" McGonagall suggested, pulling a tiny purse out of her robe pocket. "We can buy more Floo powder at Diagon Alley, where we're going to do the children's shopping tomorrow," she explained, before she threw a small amount into the fireplace, shouting, "Madam Pomfrey's office, Hogwarts."

After a short conversation, Madam Pomfrey stepped through the fireplace, causing Kathy to look at the Mediwitch wide-eyed. "Mrs. Mackenzie, do you have Harry's medical records?" the Healer queried.

"Only for the last four years since I became his guardian and the notes from the school nurse," Kathy replied and fetched the papers.

Pomfrey sighed as she read the notes. "The poor child; he is really badly off, and I'm afraid it won't be better at Hogwarts, where he is exposed to so many children and their germs, especially if his system isn't used to magical illnesses yet. However, I'll keep an eye on him to catch everything he comes down with as early as possible, before it gets really bad. I don't think it would be wise to check on him now though. Instead, please call me when he comes down with something the next time, so that I have a valid reason to thoroughly check on him."

Afterwards, McGonagall quickly explained that Harry's school fees had already been paid for by his parents and that there was a fund that paid for cases like Brianna. "I will deal with the paper work," McGonagall reassured Kathy, before she promised to return in the morning and show the family how to take the Floo to Hogwarts, from where they were going to take the Floo network to the Leaky Cauldron.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, McGonagall instructed the Mackenzies to Floo into Dumbledore's office, knowing that in times when the Floo network was crowded the connection from the Headmaster's office to the Leaky Cauldron was faster than that from her own office.

Kathy, Brianna and Harry arrived in the Headmaster's office, looking around in amazement. "This is a beautiful office," Kathy breathed, unaware of the fact that the two professors were watching her in amusement.

"And you're a Muggle, Mrs. Mackenzie?" Dumbledore queried, raising an eyebrow as he offered his three guests lemon drops.

"Unfortunately yes, Professor," Kathy replied and couldn't help feeling a little sad at the thought.

"If you were a Muggle, this as you said beautiful office would look like a pile of old bricks to you," the Headmaster informed her gently, before he suggested calling Madam Pomfrey to have her do a quick check.

"Your magic is not very strong, but you're definitely neither a Muggle nor a Squib, but a witch," Madam Pomfrey explained a few minutes later, causing a stunned Kathy to follow her children and the professor through the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron.

The three Mackenzies liked Diagon Alley immediately. "We need to change some money first," Kathy said to the teacher, noticing that the prices were not displayed in pounds.

"We're just heading to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, where Harry's parents left several vaults full of gold for him," McGonagall explained gently. "At Gringotts you can also exchange Muggle money into wizarding money." When they entered the bank, the teacher whispered, "These are Goblins. Make sure you behave well while we're here." She accompanied the small group to the first free goblin and explained, "This is Harry Mackenzie, originally Potter, but he doesn't have his key, and he has changed his name."

"No problem, Griphook will lead you," the goblin snarled, before another goblin showed up and motioned them to follow.

Harry had to put his forefinger on the lock of a vault, and the goblin explained that a drop of his blood was being taken to confirm that he was the right owner of the vault, before the door finally opened. "This is one vault out of eleven; however, the others are much larger and will only be accessible after your seventeenth birthday or in presence of your legal guardian."

"I am his legal guardian," Kathy supplied.

"You have to be his guardian in the magical world," McGonagall explained gently. "We'll see to that during the next few days."

"How much will I need to last for the first Hogwarts year?" Harry asked teacher, who motioned him to grab a hand full, while the goblin handed him a small bag. Harry thanked the goblin and asked for two more bags, before he handed Brianna and Kathy a bag each, feeling very much reassured by the professor's approving nod.

Kathy tried to reject the money, but McGonagall told her to accept it and quietly informed her that Harry possessed enough money to last all three of them for a lifetime.

While the children were observing the animals in the Magical Menagerie, discussing what kind of pet they wanted, McGonagall turned to Kathy. "Mrs. Mackenzie, considering that you're a witch, I'd like to suggest something to you."

Kathy threw the professor a questioning look, when all of a sudden Brianna's voice penetrated their ears. "Harry, that's absolutely wicked! We have to tell Mum."

Kathy threw McGonagall an apologetic look. "So much about a few quiet minutes," she whispered, before she turned to her excited daughter. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Harry can speak to snakes," Brianna blurted out, pointing to her brother, who was animatedly talking to a bright yellow snake that was wrapped around his neck.

"Harry!" Kathy shouted, terrified at the sight.

"It's all right," the shop owner said calmingly. "That's Lissy. She is not poisonous, but she is a very intelligent snake and would make a brilliant familiar, however, only to someone who can speak Parseltongue."

"Please, Mum, may I buy her?" Harry asked pleadingly. "She is so sweet."

"Snakes are not listed on your shopping list though," Kathy replied worriedly, glancing at McGonagall.

"If the snake is definitely not poisonous, it's all right," the professor quickly reassured her, and Kathy grudgingly agreed.

"I want an owl," Brianna stated when they left the pet shop.

McGonagall led them to Eeylops Owl Emporium, where Brianna bought a snowy owl. "I think I'll name her 'Hedwig'," she said thoughtfully. "I hope she and Lissy will get along."

"Lissy, will you get along with my sister's owl?" Harry asked his new familiar that replied positively and changed to a white colour just like Hedwig's. "No problem, Brianna," Harry told his sister, grinning at his familiar's antics.

Finally, the small group entered Ollivander's wand shop. "Ah, I thought it must be time for you to come for your wand," the old man greeted Harry and told him what kind of wands his parents had possessed, before he turned to Brianna. "Your father, well, he seems to still have his first wand. Maybe you'll be the easiest customer today. Let's begin with you."

"My father?" Brianna queried, staring at the old man, wide-eyed. "Who is my father, sir?"

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews!!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Hogwarts

**5 – Hogwarts**

"Oh, my dear child, I am not the one to reveal this kind of information. I'm sorry, my dear," the old man said sympathetically.

Like Ollivander had predicted, it was easy to find a wand for Brianna as well as for her mother; however, it took quite a time, before Harry finally had his own wand as well. The small group returned to the Leaky Cauldron and took the Floo back to McGonagall's office, from where the Mackenzies returned home, promising to come back two days later for their trip to the Ministry of Magic in order for Kathy to become Harry's magical guardian.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On Monday morning, Harry woke up to Brianna's excited shouting, "Harry, wake up. We're going to the Ministry of Magic today."

Harry lazily tried to open his eyes, noticing that they outright refused. '_What's that? Why are my eye lids so heavy_?' he mused, forcing his eyes to open, only to close them again straight away, realising, '_The light hurts_.'

"Get up, lazybones," his sister's voice penetrated his ears like from far away.

"What time is it?" he queried, noticing horrified that his throat was very sore.

"It's only eight o'clock, so we still have time. Are you sick, Harry? You don't look good."

Harry tried to sit up, however, as soon as he tried to raise his head, dizziness overcame him and he collapsed back onto his pillow.

"Harry, are you all right?" Brianna enquired worriedly, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I don't feel so good, but please don't tell Mum. I really want to get over the guardianship thing today," Harry replied in a small voice, shivering slightly.

Brianna worriedly placed a cold hand on her brother's forehead. "Harry, you're running a fever," she exclaimed, "you're sick. We should tell Mum, before it gets much worse."

"I promise I'll tell her as soon as we're back home," Harry whispered urgently. "Can you bring me something for the fever, so I can try to get up again?"

Harry efficiently managed to hide how bad he felt from his mother and from the professor, and two hours later, they found themselves in the family division of the Ministry of Magic. The woman in charge was a very kind young lady and a former student of McGonagall. She handed Kathy several parchments, and the professor proceeded helping her to fill them out in order to not only gain the magical guardianship over Harry but also over Brianna. Kathy noted Harry's and Brianna's data, before she said, "Professor, it says I have to list at least two magical godparents, but I don't know anyone. Do you have any suggestions?"

McGonagall sighed, knowing that none of Harry's real godparents were available. "Why don't you take Poppy Pomfrey, Severus Snape and myself, Minerva McGonagall? We all belong to the Hogwarts staff, and the children will get to know us soon. The Heads of the Hogwarts Houses sometimes act as a group of godparents in such special cases."

Kathy agreed and completed the parchment. "You'll receive your confirmation during the next few hours," the Ministry clerk reassured her, and the small group sighed in relief as they left the Ministry and took the Floo back to McGonagall's office.

"I could offer you a tour through the castle, and I'd also like to speak with you about the possibility of studying magic, Mrs. Mackenzie," McGonagall spoke up when they were gathered in her office. "Or would you prefer to go home right away?"

"I'd love to see the castle," Kathy replied immediately, glancing at the children.

"Would it be possible to do that at a different time?" Brianna asked, looking worriedly at Harry.

"It's fine with me," Harry replied in a small voice, causing Kathy to look at him in concern.

"Harry, are you ill?" she asked and stepped over to him, placing a cold hand on his forehead. "Harry, you're burning up. Why didn't you tell us that you're sick?"

"It's all right," Harry replied, shooting Brianna an angry glance.

"What? You promised to tell Mum as soon as the guardianship matter was over," she replied matter-of-factly, causing Kathy to throw her an exasperated glare.

"So you knew that Harry was sick and didn't inform me?" she asked angrily.

"Very well then," McGonagall threw in calmly and motioned Harry to sit down, before she turned to Kathy. "I will call Madam Pomfrey and ask her to check on Harry. Magical potions are very fast working, and if it's only a cold, he'll be right as rain in ten minutes. We need to speak with Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape about the godparents matter anyway." With that she headed to the fireplace and called the Mediwitch and the Potions Master.

While the Mediwitch introduced herself to Harry and Brianna and cast several diagnostic spells, McGonagall informed Snape that Kathy had listed him as godfather for her twins, Brianna and Harry. "Severus, Mrs. Mackenzie was raped by a Death Eater, and we only discovered recently that she is a witch." Noticing that her colleague's eyes flickered to the two children, terrified, she continued, "I want to give her the chance to receive a magical education and would like to ask all of our colleagues to teach her one evening a week. Would you be willing to teach her Potions?"

"Of course," Snape replied absentmindedly, glancing over to where the Healer was now examining Brianna. "Poppy, is everything all right with the twins, or do you need any potions?"

Pomfrey threw him a grateful look. "Yes Severus, I'm afraid Harry here has caught the wizard's measles. Brianna hasn't caught it yet. Do you think there is still a chance that the immunisation shot would prevent Brianna and Mrs. Mackenzie from getting it?"

"If he just fell ill today, it might be possible," Snape replied pensively.

"Well, then I'll send Misty to St. Mungo's to retrieve a shot for her. Other than that I need a batch of the wizard's measles potion."

"Very well; it'll take two hours to brew," Snape replied and turned towards the fireplace.

"Oh, please Professor, may I help? I love to cook, and I can't wait to brew," Brianna blurted out, before she quieted and asked hesitantly, "Or should I stay with Harry?"

"No sweetie, I don't want you to be together with Harry for the moment," Pomfrey replied gently.

"Very well then, you may come with me," Snape grudgingly agreed. "You can send Misty to me, Poppy. I'll give Ms. Mackenzie the shot."

"My name is Brianna," the girl spoke up, smiling at the tall man. "Thank you so much. I can't wait to learn to brew."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Snape noticed quickly that his goddaughter wasn't only very adept at Potions, but that she already knew a lot. "I've read many old potions books and also my first year book, which we bought last week," the girl admitted, causing a small smile to play on the professor's lips.

"Is your brother as interested in potions as you?" he asked as he swiftly finished the potion for Harry.

"He can cook as well, and he learned everything together with me, but he is much better at doing magic than I," Brianna acknowledged, eyeing the shot the professor was holding in his hands in discomfort.

"What kind of magic can he do?" Snape asked, trying to distract the girl from the shot he had to spell into her system, causing Brianna to explain how they had always practised together at home.

"Both of you can do wandless magic?" the teacher asked in disbelief, realising that the twins possessed very strong magic. '_She is a Death Eater's child? Who can that be? Who would have opposed the Dark Lord enough as to not kill the woman?_' he mused as he magically cleaned up the work space. "Well, let's go and take the potion to your brother. Now that I gave you the shot, you should be immune to the wizard's measles."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

During the next three weeks, Harry remained very ill and had to stay in the hospital wing. His mother and his sister remained with him, occupying the next two beds in the otherwise empty room during the nights. The teachers had decided on a short notice to give Kathy lessons during the time Harry had to spend in the hospital wing, and Brianna either remained with Harry or, whenever he was asleep, visited the Potions Master to assist. When Madam Pomfrey finally released Harry, the Mackenzies returned home for the last three weeks of the holidays.

The teachers had agreed to take turns teaching Kathy in the evenings during the school year, and Kathy reassured Brianna and Harry that they would be able to speak with her if they wanted. "I'll give you my time table as soon as I get it, so you know where to find me," she promised. "By the way, there is something else I have to tell you," she continued hesitantly and proceeded telling the children about Harry's history and the fact that his name was famous in the wizarding world. "Knowing how you hate attention, I suggest you don't tell anyone your real name, Harry. I told the teachers, so they all know about you..."

"Why?" Harry queried sternly, frowning at his adoptive mother.

Kathy cleared her throat. "Because," she sighed, "Harry, think about it. They would have been very upset if they couldn't find you. Do you really want the whole magical world to search for you? The students might wonder where Harry Potter is, but, well, let them wonder. The teachers promised to keep your secret for themselves. If you want to tell someone, feel free to do so, but you don't have to. Brianna, I don't have to tell you that I expect you to not reveal Harry's secret to anyone, do I?"

"Of course not, Mum," Brianna replied, smiling.

"I just hope we'll end up in the same House," Harry said in a small voice. On one hand he couldn't wait to finally start Hogwarts and learn magic, but on the other hand, he was so happy to have a real family that he would prefer staying with his mother and sister if he had the choice.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Finally, it was the first of September, and after a long train ride together with another first year boy, Neville, who was searching for his toad the whole time, and a Muggle born girl, Hermione, they finally reached Hogwarts. '_The boat ride was fantastic_,' Harry mused, '_but the train ride was just a waste of time compared to the Floo network_.'

After an infinite time of waiting for the Sorting ceremony to proceed, Professor McGonagall finally called, "Mackenzie, Brianna."

Harry observed anxiously how Brianna sat on the stool and McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head. An instant later, the Hat shouted, "Slytherin."

'_That's a surprise_,' Harry mused. Somehow he had expected them to end up in Gryffindor. '_Well, maybe only because everyone we met today told us they wanted to become Gryffindors_.'

Barely registering that Professor McGonagall called, "Harry Mackenzie," Harry hurried to talk to the Sorting Hat.

An instant after the professor had placed the Hat on his head, a high voice penetrated his mind. '_Oh, this is difficult. Everything is possible here. Now, what am I going to do with you?_'

'_Please put me together with my sister_,' Harry began to beg the Hat.

'_Together with your sister? Well, Gryffindor would be a good choice as well, or Ravenclaw. And you would of course make a good Hufflepuff_,' the Hat said thoughtfully, before it opened its large cramp again, ready to shout into the Hall.

_

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tbc..._

_In case you're eager to see Dumbledore's reaction to Kathy's relevation, I have to ask you to be patient. You'll see a short flashback in chapter eight. Well, considering that the Dursleys are in prison, there is not much the Headmaster can do about it, is there?_

_Thank you so much for taking the time to review - I really appreicate your many kind comments to this story!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. House Rules

**6 – House Rules**

'_Please put me into Slytherin together with Brianna_,' Harry once more begged the Hat.

"Slytherin!" the Hat shouted into the Hall, and Harry happily trailed behind his sister to the Slytherin table, unaware of the disbelieving looks that followed him from the Head table.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Harry sat down next to Brianna, throwing his sister a relieved smile. A few minutes later, Draco Malfoy arrived and took the seat on Harry's other side. The first year students introduced themselves to each other, and when the twins were asked if they were purebloods or halfbloods, they replied that they had only recently known that their mother was a witch, and that their father was a wizard.

The twins thoroughly enjoyed the Welcoming Feast, until Harry glanced at the Head table, noticing that Professor Snape was watching them. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his forehead, causing Harry to grip his head in agony. '_Strange_,' he wondered, '_is Snape doing anything to me? Brianna said he was so nice_.'

"Harry, are you all right?" Brianna asked in concern and explained to the others about Harry's health problems, giving her brother a sharp look.

"I'm fine, just a bit of a headache," Harry replied dismissively.

"Let me warn you, Mackenzie," Roger Higgs, the fifth year prefect, spoke up. "We have our own House point system within Slytherin. We can gain snakes, which is good, or toads, which is bad. A certain amount of snakes means extra fun like a later bed time or an evening excursion to Hogsmeade with the Professor, while a certain amount of toads means an earlier bed time or scrubbing dirty cauldrons. If you have a headache and don't tell him, you'll earn a toad, just so you know."

"Oh, then my brother will soon be ready to cook toad soup," Brianna chuckled, causing Harry to glare at her.

Suddenly, Snape swept behind the House table. "Prefects, please gather the House in the common room for our House meeting in twenty minutes," he said in his silky voice, causing the prefects to jump from their seats.

"First years, line up, two in a row, and follow me," Roger instructed the first years, who obeyed immediately. They walked down to the dungeons, a way Brianna already knew well, and through many halls with moving pictures to both sides of the corridor, until they finally reached a huge portrait. "This is Salazar Slytherin, the Founder of our House," Roger informed them. "The password is 'Slytherin Pride and Unity'."

Harry and Brianna observed in amazement how their housemates gathered in the common room, sitting in a circle on the floor. The first years were motioned to sit in the middle. Harry let his eyes wander around the room, which was filled with old, yet comfortable looking sofas that were grouped around a huge fireplace. One wall was covered with boards displaying the snakes and toads each of the students had received. Each class had its own board, and Harry noticed in surprise that every first year student already possessed two snakes.

"That's because of being Sorted into Slytherin," Marcus Flint, who had introduced himself at dinner as the Quidditch captain and a fifth year, informed him.

"I like the coloursss in thiss room," Lissy, who was invisibly curled around his neck and had so far kept quiet since they had arrived at Hogwarts, whispered into his ear, causing Harry to nod. '_Yes, it looks very comfortable_,' he thought.

Suddenly, the room quietened down when Professor Snape swept in through a hardly visible door to their left. "Welcome to Slytherin to the first years, welcome back to the older students," he greeted them, wearing a blank expression.

'_I like his voice_,' Harry mused, listening to the professor's monologue with interest.

"Slytherin always had a bad reputation, and we all have to work on improving this. Remember that no one cares about Slytherins, so we have to look after ourselves. We are a huge family, and I expect all of you to interact like brothers and sisters. I do not want to see any fights outside this House. If you want to fight with your siblings, do it here.

"I expect you to study in small groups here in the common room or if necessary in the library. If you have questions, the older students will be here to help you. In return, I expect the younger students to do small chores for the fifth and seventh year students, who are busy studying for their exams. If you lose House points to any of the teachers or prefects, you will also lose points within the House. If you earn yourself a detention with any other professor, you will additionally serve a detention with me. Within our House, you can earn good points in form of snakes or bad points in form of toads. Everything concerning the rules, snakes, toads, awards and punishment is displayed on the board over there. Follow the rules, and you won't have any problems.

"Independent from the school's curfew, Slytherin has its own curfew. For all students from first through fourth year curfew is at nine o'clock; for the fifth, sixth and seventh years curfew is at ten o'clock. Bedtime and lights out is eleven o'clock for everyone. No exceptions will be allowed. If you couldn't manage to finish your homework by then, you may come to my office before your bed time and speak with me. Furthermore, you must be on time at all times. You have to attend breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Great Hall on time, and of course you must be in your classrooms punctually. If you are ill or for some other reason unable to be on time, you must come and inform me or go straight to Madam Pomfrey. I will spend at least thirty minutes in the common room every night. Feel free to speak with me about school matters or private topics.

"Every Friday evening at eight o'clock sharp, we're going to hold a House meeting here in the common room. Everyone has to attend. No excuses, except for being in Madam Pomfrey's care in the hospital wing. Now I would like the first years to introduce themselves to the House."

Harry absently listened to his classmates introducing themselves, frantically wondering what he should say. Before he could come up with a good idea, it was Brianna's turn, and she told the others about their mother and magic, that they didn't know their father and that she liked brewing potions.

Harry sighed. "Oh well, Brianna told nearly everything. I'm very happy to be here. Since our mother didn't know that she was a witch, we grew up in a Muggle environment and don't know much about magic yet, although we've been reading a lot since we received our Hogwarts letter. Unfortunately, I use to get sick quite often, but I hope that I won't miss too many classes and won't get toads because of it. I'll do my best." With that Harry sat back, feeling incredibly relieved that it was over.

When the rest of the first-years finished their introduction, they were sent to bed. Harry was shown to a dormitory with four other boys, Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. He had the bed next to Blaise, which he appreciated, because he liked the boy immediately.

'_I hope Brianna will be all right as well_,' he mused as he drifted off to sleep.

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The first few days at Hogwarts were exciting and just wonderful. Harry and Brianna got together with Blaise and Millicent Bulstrode for their study group, and the four first years got along very well. They met in the common room every day after dinner to do their homework together. Brianna and Harry noticed soon that they didn't have any difficulties; on the contrary, they were ahead of the others in most subjects, because they had read and studied so much over the summer.

On the third day of classes, they finally had their first Potions class, and Brianna and Harry couldn't wait to finally be able to brew. However, during the first class, the teacher held a long monologue, and the twins sat there eagerly taking notes of every word that left the professor's lips.

"Some of you seem to believe they were already so good at Potions that they didn't have to listen," the teacher suddenly sneered, causing the whole class to watch the twins write.

Brianna was the first to catch up with the professor's words and looked up in confusion. "In case you mean us, we were listening. We were just taking notes, sir," she replied firmly, and everyone looked at her in amazement, because she dared talk back to the teacher with the worst reputation a Hogwarts teacher could have.

Snape, however, swept through the classroom and stood behind the twins, confirming that they had merely copied his words. "It is always good to take notes," he said evenly, "two points each to Slytherin."

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Not all classes went so well though. In their first Transfiguration class, the twins had a hard time not to transfigure the match into a needle by just looking at the match and wishing it to become a needle. They had to learn the incantation and practise the wand movement; however, as soon as Harry did as much as even look at the match, it would transform automatically.

"Mr. Mackenzie, please come to see me on Saturday morning right after breakfast," McGonagall finally told Harry as she dismissed the class.

"Detention," Harry gasped to Brianna on their way out of the classroom, his eyes widened horrified. "That means a toad."

Brianna frowned. "Harry, I don't think that's a detention. You didn't do anything bad. Let's go to see Snape after lunch. I'll come with you."

'_Thank God, our next class is Defence Against the Dark Arts_,' Harry mused as they hurried behind their classmates. '_I don't know anything about Defence, so it might be easier_.'

However, the class should be worse than any other class Harry had experienced so far. As soon as the professor entered the room, Harry's head began to hurt. By the end of the class, he had a splitting headache. "Brianna, I'm going to skip lunch and return to my dormitory until the beginning of the afternoon classes," he told his sister. '_Thank God we only have Potions in the afternoon_.'

Brianna sighed. "All right then, I'll go to the Great Hall and tell Snape. I'll ask him if I may keep you company."

While Harry returned to the dungeons, Brianna spoke with her Head of House, who threw her a menacing glare. "Is your brother too stupid to read the rules, or does he believe that other rules apply to him because of what he is?"

"Professor, I don't think he thought at all, because he was in an immense amount of pain, which was not his fault," Brianna replied firmly. "May I be excused from lunch, so I can keep him company?"

"No." Snape glared at the first year. "I shall go and see what caused the dunderhead to blatantly ignore the rules. Just to clarify the rules once more, he had to come to me to inform me about his headache or go straight to the hospital wing in order to be excused from lunch. There is no exception to the rules." '_Not even for the brat who lived_,' he added for himself.

"But..."

"One point from Slytherin for your insolence, Ms. Mackenzie." With that, Snape swept out of the Great Hall through a side door, before he took a shortcut to the dungeons.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind words concerning this story! _

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. Headaches

**7 – Headaches**

Snape grabbed two phials from his office and arrived at Harry's dormitory when Harry had just curled up on his bed, holding his head in agony.

Snape watched the son of his former enemy for a moment, realising that he indeed seemed to be in a great amount of pain. "Mr. Mackenzie," Snape spoke in a soft voice, causing Harry to instinctively turn towards the silky sound. "You seem to have a bad headache. What exactly happened?"

Harry blearily opened his eyes, seeing his Head of House towering over him. "I don't know, sir. It began when Professor Quirrel entered the classroom. I think it's slowly getting better though, sir."

"Very well. I'll give you a headache potion, and we'll see if it works," Snape said and surprisingly gently steadied Harry's back as the boy tried to sit up, his face scrunched in pain.

Harry gulped down the potion, sighing in relief as he felt the immediate effects. "Thank you so much, Professor," he said gratefully, questioningly eyeing the second phial the professor still held in his hands.

"A nutrient potion," the teacher said evenly, pressing the phial against the boy's lips.

"Uugh, do I really want to know what's in that?" Harry groaned in disgust as he thankfully accepted the glass of water Snape handed him to get rid of the taste, causing the professor to smirk.

"If it tasted well, students might be tempted to miss a meal in favour of a nutrient potion," the professor replied dryly. "Stay here and rest until the beginning of your afternoon class. If it happens again, you'll come to see me immediately, even if it's in the middle of a class. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir. Oh right, it happened once before," Harry suddenly remembered, "at the Welcoming Feast, when I looked at you, sir." Seeing the professor raise an eyebrow, he quickly added, "I know that it has nothing to do with you, sir."

"And why didn't you come to me right after the Welcoming Feast? You know that students earn a toad for not informing me if they're sick."

"I wasn't sick, sir. It was just a short pain and went away after a few minutes."

"Well, knowing how fragile your health condition is, you will come to me if you have as much as a headache; otherwise you will begin collecting toads," the teacher said sternly and left the room.

'_Quirrel is indeed strange this school year, but what is it with him and Mackenzie? And why did his head hurt when he looked at me?_' he mused on his way back to his office, instinctively knowing that the boy hadn't tried to be disrespectful. '_Maybe it's just some kind of migraine_,' he thought, resolving to watch the boy closely.

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Harry was very apprehensive when he entered the Defence classroom for his next Defence Against the Dark Arts class, remembering all too well what had happened the last time. However, he didn't have any problems and even managed to do all the spells they were practising flawlessly.

"Somehow I like Defence," he said to Brianna on their way to lunch. "It's so different. It's kind of," he shrugged, "you know like sports class at primary school was."

"Oh well, I know what you mean," Brianna replied, chuckling. "By the way, shall we send Mum an owl and suggest meeting her on Thursday before her evening class? On Friday, we only have History of Magic and Transfiguration; so we won't have too much urgent homework."

Harry agreed immediately, and on Thursday morning, Hedwig brought Kathy's reply. '_My dear twins, meet me in the entrance hall in time for dinner. Professor McGonagall arranged for us to have dinner together in the kitchen. Love, Mum_.'

However, the first years' last afternoon class was Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Harry noticed that his headache flared up again as soon as they began to practise a new spell and the teacher walked around the class. He tried his best to hide how bad he felt in order not to let Brianna, with whom he had partnered up, down, but his sister noticed soon what was wrong and turned to the teacher.

"Professor, Harry is feeling unwell. May I take him to the hospital wing?" she asked, causing the teacher to hastily stutter his consent.

"Brianna, I'll be fine. I'm not going to the hospital wing. I'll go and ask Snape for a headache potion when the class is over," Harry told his sister as they slowly descended the stairs towards the dungeons. They sat on the floor in front of the Potions classroom, and Harry rested his achy head on his sister's shoulder. "Thank you, Brianna," he mumbled, "for keeping me company."

"You're welcome, brother. I'll always be here for you," Brianna replied softly, sighing in relief as the door to the Potions classroom opened and the seventh year students stumbled out of the room. She gently helped Harry off the floor and dragged him into the classroom.

The Potions Master made Harry sit in his office, offering Brianna a seat as well instead of throwing her out as she had expected. "The same headache as the last time?" he queried, throwing Harry a sharp look.

"Yes sir. It's not that bad, but since you ordered me to come to you..." He slowly trailed off.

"I only need to look at your face to know that it is bad, Mr. Mackenzie. Don't lie to me," the professor said sternly, pointing his wand at Harry's head. "You're also running a slight temperature. Whilst I could give you the normal headache potion, I'd prefer you to go to Madam Pomfrey and allow her a proper check up. You might be suffering from a kind of migraine that won't clear up by just taking headache potions all the time. Your sister may accompany you to the hospital wing if you wish."

"Sir, could we please do that the next time? We have an appointment with our mother in thirty minutes," Harry said pleadingly.

"Very well," Snape relented, remembering that McGonagall had asked him to excuse the twins from dinner. "Ms. Mackenzie, can you fetch a headache potion and a fever reducer from the shelf and mix a sip of the fever reducer into the potion?"

"Yes sir," Brianna said happily and hurried to the shelf with the Healing potions that the professor had shown her during the holidays. "Excuse me, sir, how much exactly do you mean with a sip?" she asked hesitantly.

"A spoonful," the professor replied softly, nodding contentedly when Brianna handed Harry the potion.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said gratefully, and the two students excused themselves. They quickly brought their book bags back into their dormitories and left for the entrance hall to meet with their mother.

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Kathy was already waiting and pulled the twins into bear hugs. "Now, Mum, show us where the kitchen is. How comes you know such things although we're living here in the castle?" Brianna asked playfully, causing Kathy to give her a surprised look.

"Oh, I have no idea where it is; I thought you knew as much by now."

At that instant, they could hear a small pop, and a strange creature with long ears stood in front of them, bowing deeply. "Good evening. I am Malcolm, Mistress Professor McGonagall's house-elf. I will lead you to the kitchens."

The three Mackenzies followed Malcolm in amazement as he led them through the empty halls. "Oh right, we read about house-elves, but we haven't met one yet," Brianna whispered to Harry, before she began to tell her mother everything about the rules in Slytherin and about Harry's strange headaches, causing her mother to throw Harry a worried look.

"Harry, promise me that you will listen to Professor Snape, and if he tells you to go to the hospital wing, you'll do so," she said sternly.

"Yes Mum; don't worry, I don't want to get a toad," Harry replied and explained the snakes and toads system.

"Oh, that's a good idea; we could use something like that at home," Kathy chuckled when they finally arrived at the kitchen, where dozens of house-elves were bustling around.

The Mackenzies enjoyed having dinner and talking together; however, since Kathy had a class with Professor Flitwick right after dinner, they didn't have much time. Brianna and Harry accompanied their mother to the Charms classroom and returned to Slytherin, just in time for their study group.

On their way back, they saw Snape and Quirrel standing in an otherwise empty corridor, deeply engrossed in a conversation. They couldn't understand a word, but according to the tone of the voices sounding through the corridor, the conversation seemed not very friendly and ended abruptly when Snape turned around and headed away with his robes dramatically billowing behind him. The twins quickly hid in an empty classroom, until the Defence teacher was gone.

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However, if Harry suspected that Professor Quirrel had something to do with his recurring headaches, he wasn't so sure anymore when he developed a tremendous headache during his Transfiguration class on Friday morning. '_Oh no, not again_,' he groaned inwardly, gripping his head with both hands.

"Harry, what is it? A headache again?" Brianna whispered in concern.

"Yes."

Fortunately, the class was just about to be over, and before Brianna could alert the teacher, Professor McGonagall had already noticed that something was wrong and motioned Harry and Brianna into her office. She quickly transfigured a chair into a sofa and instructed Harry to lie down. "I'm going to call Professor Snape," she said, knowing that the Slytherin Head wanted to be called if Harry had problems.

"Again? And in your class this time?" Snape asked his former teacher as he stepped out of the fireplace. '_I was sure his headaches had something to do with Quirrel_,' he mused as he eyed his two first years. "The same as usual?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow at Harry.

"Yes sir. I'm sorry to be such a burden," Harry replied in a hardly audible voice.

"Oh Harry! Mum told you so often that you're not a burden," Brianna said upset.

Snape pointed his wand at Harry's head, frowned and repeated the process, before he sat on the edge of the sofa, giving Harry a sharp look. "You have a very high fever. Are you sure it's only a headache?" he asked in a soft, silky voice.

"Yes sir," Harry replied in confusion, before he hesitantly added, "I've been feeling a bit dizzy the whole morning, but other than the headache I feel fine."

Harry flinched back badly as he suddenly felt the teacher's ice-cold hand on his forehead. The hand stayed firmly at its place though, until the professor stood up and waved his wand over Harry, casting a diagnostic spell. "The wizard's flu," he finally stated. "I'm going to take you to the hospital wing." He scooped the boy up and carried him through the Floo.

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Harry had to remain in the hospital wing over the whole weekend. He felt absolutely miserable and was glad that either his mother or his sister was always there when he woke up from his fevered dreams. He was only released on Tuesday afternoon, right in time for his first flying class. Harry was very excited when he left the hospital wing together with Brianna and headed out to the Quidditch pitch.

"You didn't tell Madam Pomfrey that we have our first flying class right now, did you?" Brianna queried. "Considering that she told you to take it easy for a few days, I don't think she'd appreciate it if you went flying."

"Oh Brianna, shut up. She released me and allowed me to go back to class, and that's what I'm doing," Harry whispered back just when Madam Hooch arrived.

Unfortunately, before they could even really begin their class, Neville had an accident and Madam Hooch had to take him to the hospital wing, instructing everyone to remain on the ground. However, Draco found Neville's Remembrall on the ground and took it up into the air, and Harry couldn't resist trying to get it back from Draco. The instant he landed safely on the ground with the Remembrall in his hands, his Head of House stepped out of the castle, heading straight towards the group in a quick pace.

"Mackenzie, follow me!" he hissed, before he turned on the spot and strode back, his robes menacingly billowing behind him.

Harry anxiously followed the professor into his office and hesitantly took the offered seat.

"Mr. Mackenzie, I do not tolerate disrespect," the teacher growled, glaring daggers at Harry, "not against my fellow colleagues. You took into the air, although Madam Hooch had explicitly told you to stay on the ground. One toad. I won't accept insolence against your housemates either. The number one rule of our House is not to fight against your housemates in front of people from other Houses. Another toad. Further, you put it up with Draco in spite of having no flying experience what so ever. That was very reckless. You need to better take care of yourself. A third toad. Lastly, you participated in your flying class, although Madam Pomfrey only just released you from the hospital wing with the clear instruction to take it easy for the rest of the week, which means no strenuous activities like flying. A fourth toad. You will come to my office for detention at seven o'clock sharp. Every minute you are late will cause you an additional toad. I am very disappointed, Mr. Mackenzie," the professor spat.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I hope you liked the chapter._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	8. Detention

**8 – Detention**

"Yes sir, I'm sorry sir," Harry replied in a small voice, feeling absolutely horrible to have disappointed his Head of House, who so far had been very kind towards him and had always helped him with his headaches.

"I hope you're sorry," the professor hissed. "Your behaviour today was very similar to that of your father. I had hoped I could expect more from you, considered that the Sorting Hat placed you into Slytherin."

"I'm really sorry, sir; I'll try to behave better in the future."

"Very well then; your last afternoon class is going to begin in a few minutes. I'll see you at seven o'clock."

"Yes sir, thank you sir," Harry replied sadly and left the room.

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Still horrified about how angry the professor had been, Harry left dinner early and arrived fifteen minutes too early in front of the professor's office. He leaned against the wall right next to the door and let himself sink to the floor, once more reflecting the events of the afternoon. At dinner, he had apologized to Draco, causing the boy to look at him as if he had three heads.

"Why do you need to apologize? I thought it was quite a bit of fun. We were just playing a bit, weren't we?"

"So you're not angry at me? The professor gave me a toad for fighting you in front of people of other Houses."

"Oh really? I'll talk to him and tell him we were only having fun," Draco promised and stood up to speak with the professor, while Harry left the Hall, before Brianna could admonish him because of not eating his dinner.

Harry felt relieved that Draco wasn't angry, although it was only a small comfort. He looked up startled as suddenly a shadow appeared in front of him. It was Marcus Flint.

"Hi Harry, what are you doing here? Waiting for the Professor?" the boy queried in his usual, rough tone.

"Detention," Harry mumbled, wishing nothing more than to be able to hide in a mouse hole.

"Detention?" the boy asked incredulously. "What did you do? Normally, you only get detention after accumulating at least five toads."

"I received four this afternoon," Harry replied in a small voice and told the boy what had happened.

"Oh right, these are all valid points to give you toads, but didn't you have any snakes to make up for them?"

"I had three snakes," Harry whispered, realising terrified that tears began to form at the corners of his eyes.

Suddenly, the Professor swept by and opened the door. "Mr. Flint, Mr. Mackenzie, please come in," he said in an even voice.

'_Thank God, he seems to have calmed down a bit_,' Harry mused as he hesitantly entered the office.

The teacher motioned them to sit down and turned to the older boy. "Marcus, you wanted to have someone to replace Terrance as Seeker, didn't you? Well, I have a new Seeker for you. Harry seems to be a natural talent."

"Really?" Marcus asked in surprise, causing Harry to look from one to the other in utmost confusion.

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand. What..." He slowly trailed off.

"Quidditch, Harry, Quidditch of course. You're going to play on the House team. Err, Professor, does the Headmaster know? He is a first year."

Snape scoffed. "I'm well aware of the fact that Harry is a first year, Marcus. Yes, I spoke with my colleagues about the matter at dinner, and they don't like it, but they gave me their approval. Harry is not allowed to fly for the rest of the week though as of Madam Pomfrey's orders. So you may only begin teaching him from Sunday onwards."

"All right. Thank you, sir," Marcus replied, throwing Harry an enthusiastic smile. "Be on the Quidditch pitch on Sunday morning right after breakfast."

"Yes," Harry replied, before he turned to the professor, "Thank you, sir."

With that the Quidditch captain was dismissed and Snape laid a parchment in front of Harry. "Write this sentence one hundred times."

Harry glanced at the parchment. It said, '_I will not fight with my housemates in front of students of other Houses. I will obey the teachers and Madam Pomfrey and take better care of myself_.'

"One moment," the professor said suddenly and waved his wand at the parchment, making the first sentence disappear. "Draco told me you didn't have a fight. I took one of your toads back as well."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied, inwardly sighing in relief, and began to work.

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Snape sat at his usual spot at his desk, pretending to grade essays, while he was watching the child in front of him eagerly write his lines. '_He is nothing like his father_,' he mused. '_James would have tried to wriggle himself out of detention, if he couldn't find another reason, then because his three snakes would have nullified the three toads. In fact, it must seem unfair to make to him write sentences because I normally only assign detention if a student has five toads without snakes to nullify them; however, I wanted to introduce him to Flint, and considering his fragile condition, it's important for him to see reason and better take care of himself_.'

His thoughts wandered back to the night when Kathy had told him and his colleagues who her son actually was. They were gathered in Poppy's office for tea, while Harry was still recovering from the wizard's measles and Brianna was asleep in the bed next to him.

_**(Flashback first of August 1991)**_

"Ah, exactly one month until our students are going to come back," the Headmaster spoke up, pleasantly. "As much as I'm glad to see them leave for the summer, I'm always looking forward to hearing their laughter again."

"That's true," Poppy agreed, sighing. "I'm actually having much fun with the twins here, now that Harry is slowly feeling better."

"Speaking of Harry," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "isn't Harry Potter supposed to come to Hogwarts this year?"

"Yes, Albus," Minerva replied, looking at Kathy, causing the woman to speak up thoughtfully.

"I'd like all of you to keep this for yourselves like Minerva and Poppy so far did, but my son Harry is adopted, and his former name was Harry Potter. His relatives neglected him so badly that we had to call Child service. In a trial, his relatives were sent to prison, and I was granted the guardianship when Harry and Brianna were seven."

Severus nearly choked on his tea, while the Headmaster let out a loud gasp. "Harry Potter is not at the Dursleys' anymore?" he queried in disbelief. "The blood wards around the Dursleys' home..."

"... obviously couldn't protect the child from being neglected and becoming ill because of the neglect," Poppy interrupted the Headmaster sternly.

'_Brianna's twin isn't her real brother but Potter's and Lily's offspring?_' Severus mused as a bunch of different feelings threatened to overwhelm him. "If you ask me, the boy was even abused, at least verbally," he heard himself drawl. Of course he hadn't had much chance to speak with the boy due to his illness; however, he had observed how he had apologized to Poppy because of being a burden several times, and he had noticed that the child was extremely jumpy, just like he had experienced it before with abused children.

"I second Severus' suspicion," Poppy said gently.

"He definitely was abused, but at that time we couldn't prove it, and we were just glad that the Dursleys were sent to prison for ten years," Kathy replied, throwing Severus a small smile.

'_She somehow reminds me of Lily_,' Severus thought, '_it's not her appearance, but her manner_.'

The Headmaster slowly unwrapped a lemon drop and asked, "Where is his cousin? It is important for Harry's safety to..." He dropped the lemon drop, startled, when Severus interrupted him angrily.

"Albus, the boy has lost his parents as a baby. After several years of abuse, he has finally found a loving mother and a twin sister. You can't take them from him."

"You can't take Harry from them technically anyway," Minerva threw in. "Kathy is his adoptive mother in the Muggle and the magical world."

The Headmaster looked devastated. "Very well. Severus, since you seem so supportive of the boy, you'll be responsible for his safety. You know how important his well-being is for the magical world."

"Do you remember that he is Potter's offspring? That's a lot to ask," Severus objected in an upset tone. '_He seems very different from his father, but Albus doesn't have to know that I promised Lily to keep her son safe anyway._'

"Severus, I'm sorry, but I have to insist."

"Yes yes, all right," he replied, feigning annoyance.

"Thank you, Severus," Kathy said in her soft voice, causing a small smile to play on Severus' lips.

_(End of flashback)_

"Professor, I'm finished," Harry's soft voice suddenly brought the Potions Master out of his reverie.

"Very well then, you may return to the common room," Snape replied evenly, glancing at the atrocious writing on the parchment.

"Thank you sir; good night," Harry said politely and left the office, inwardly sighing in relief.

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Back in the common room, Harry stood in front of the board with the snakes and toads, realising that his snakes had indeed nullified the toads. '_Thank God_,' he mused, feeling very reassured not to have any toads anymore.

"Don't worry," Roger said, suddenly appearing behind Harry. "If you practise with the Quidditch team, you'll receive one snake for each practice, and if you play Seeker and win a match for Slytherin, you'll receive ten snakes."

"Really?" Harry asked excitedly, before his expression darkened slightly. "The problem is that I have no idea what Quidditch is and if I'll be able to play at all," he replied in a small voice.

"Don't worry. If the Professor watched you and let you into the team in spite of being a first year, he must be convinced that you'll do well on it," Roger said firmly. "Snape is not one to easily bend the rules."

"I believe that," Harry replied, remembering how angry the professor had been in the afternoon.

Seeing that Brianna, Millicent and Blaise had already begun to study, Harry quickly joined them, knowing that he had to catch up with his studies anyway. However, he had just taken his seat, when Draco approached their table and leaned over to Harry. "Mackenzie, I need your help tonight. I'm going to have a wizard's duel against Weasley at midnight."

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I hope you liked the chapter. Concerning all my stories: I might not be able to update regularly during the next few days - sorry. I'll try to update again as soon as possible!  
_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	9. More Toads and Snakes

**9 – More Toads and Snakes**

"A wizard's duel against Weasley at midnight?" Harry asked incredulously. "Err, Draco, I just returned from detention."

"Yeah, Weasley thinks he is better than us, because he is a Gryffindork. You don't have to do anything, just come. Gregory will be my second. All the first year boys are coming with us, right Blaise?"

"If the boys can go, we can go as well, can't we, Millicent?" Brianna spoke up, causing her friend to nod.

"Harry, you could bring your snake though," Draco said thoughtfully.

Harry nodded. "Thank you for looking after her, while I was in the hospital wing by the way." He quickly went into the dormitory and fetched Lissy, who was curled up under his bed covers.

"It'sss about time you came back," Lissy hissed. "The other boysss can't understand me."

"I'm ssso sssorry, Lisssy, but I wass in the hospital wing, and you know you're not allowed there, but now I'm back and everything isss all right," Harry replied soothingly, causing the snake to curl up around his neck.

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Thirty minutes after the beginning of curfew, the Slytherin first years quietly left their common room and walked up to the Great Hall. Lissy was stretched out around Harry's neck and over his arms, her colour turned into bright neon green. A few minutes after the Slytherins entered the Great Hall, Ron Weasley showed up, accompanied by Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas.

"All right, everyone except for Weasley and one of his friends and Draco and Gregory out of the ring," Blaise instructed them, before he told Draco and Ron to begin with their duel.

Harry watched with a mixture of amazement and fear as his two classmates raised their wands against each other. He hadn't heard any of the spells before, which the two boys began to fire at each other. For ten minutes, Draco and Ron managed to dodge each other's attacks, before Ron was hit by what seemed to have been some kind of cutting spell, since a huge gash appeared on his cheek.

"Oh wait, you b..." he shouted and, apparently at the end with his magic, punched Draco into the face, breaking his nose.

"Such a ssstupid boy," Lissy hissed and jumped down onto the floor, slithering in the middle of the ring, before even Harry noticed what was happening.

"Usssse you wand, ssssstupid Gryffindor," she hissed at Ron, who backed up in fright at the sight of the neon bright snake in front of him.

However, he was not fast enough, because Draco used the opportunity to kick him in his wedding tackle.

"You should end thisss nonsenssse," Lissy hissed as she wriggled her way up Harry's legs. "The stupid one isss bleeding, and Draco'sss nose isss broken."

"Blaise, don't you think it's time to end the duel?" Harry queried, pointing at the two boys, who were busy holding their injured body parts. "Let's take them to the hospital wing."

"Well, let's call it a draw," Blaise announced, and the whole group traipsed to the hospital wing.

Brianna ran ahead to call Madam Pomfrey, who was just having tea with McGonagall and Snape in her office. The three adults looked incredulously as they saw the whole Slytherin first year class enter the hospital wing. "Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey; only two of us are injured, Draco and Ronald Weasley; we're merely escorting them."

While the Mediwitch headed into the hospital wing, McGonagall and Snape motioned Brianna into the office, and Snape demanded, "Tell what happened, Ms. Mackenzie."

Brianna quietly told the whole story. "I'm sorry, Professors, I know we should have stopped them from fighting."

"There was nothing you could have done about it," Harry said softly as he entered the office, worried because his sister didn't return by the time Pomfrey had thrown everyone out, except for her patients. "I'm sorry, it's my fault; I wasn't able to refuse when Draco asked me to accompany him, and then my sister coaxed the other girls into coming, because she was worried about me. Professor, please don't give Brianna and the other girls toads. It's my fault."

"Nonsense!" Brianna replied, but everything she was going to say was cut off by Madam Pomfrey, who just returned and informed her colleagues that the students were already healed.

Snape turned to Brianna and Harry and said in a deadly cold voice, "Return to your common room. We'll speak about it later." With that he spun around and stepped into the fireplace.

The two first years bade the adults good night and hurried back to Slytherin, where their Head of House and their classmates were waiting for them. "Sorry," Harry said, glancing around, terrified.

"Very well, now that everyone is here," the professor began, "I will let you know that I don't approve you being out of bed after bedtime nor roaming the castle after curfew. You will receive one toad each, and your bedtime will be one hour earlier tomorrow. I appreciate however," he continued in a slightly friendlier voice, "your support of Draco against a member of another House, and therefore I award each of you one snake. Draco, you earn a snake as well for not using dark spells against Weasley. Very well, I expect each of you to be in bed in five minutes. Good night."

'_That's it? Our only punishment is an earlier bedtime, for which I'll definitely be grateful tomorrow?_' Harry mused as he let himself sink on his bed in exhaustion.

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The following weeks passed uneventfully. Harry was accepted into the Slytherin Quidditch team as Seeker, the youngest Seeker in a century as McGonagall informed him when she kept him back after class to congratulate him. He had to participate in the Quidditch team's practice every Monday and Thursday night, and Harry absolutely loved to fly and search for the beautiful winged ball. Seeing that Harry often became sick, even at Hogwarts, Snape insisted that Terence Higgs, the former Seeker, remained on the team as reserve Seeker though, but Harry managed to catch the Snitch before Terence could reach out for it, at least during most of their practices.

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Harry often suffered from headaches; however, it soon became clear that it was always in Professor Quirrel's presence. When it happened again on the day before Halloween, Snape gave him the usual headache potion, frowning as he noticed that Harry still looked extremely pale. "Are you feeling all right now?" he queried, taking the empty phial back.

"Everything is still a bit foggy, sir, but my head doesn't hurt anymore. It was quite bad today. Thank you sir," Harry replied dazedly.

"What is your last afternoon class?"

"Charms."

"Very well. Go to your dormitory and lie down until dinner. I'll inform Professor Flitwick. After dinner, I will speak with the Headmaster to see if there's anything we can do about Professor Quirrel. If not, I will pull you out of his class and teach you myself. I'll inform you when I come to the common room later on."

"Yes sir, thank you very much," Harry replied gratefully and went to bed.

When Brianna woke him up in time for dinner, Harry felt absolutely horrible. His ears felt as if they were filled with cotton wool and they were ringing strangely. His sister's face was blurry, and when he tried to sit up, the room began to spin around and back like on a roller coaster. "I'm sick," he moaned, causing his sister to worriedly feel his forehead.

"Definitely," she agreed. "You look like a ghost and you're burning up. I'll tell Snape. Shall I fetch Madam Pomfrey?"

"No, just tell Snape," Harry mumbled, already drifting back to sleep. The next thing he registered was his Head of House's silky voice penetrating his ears like from far away. Before he could try to open his eyes again, he felt something pressed against his lips and unconsciously followed the voice that instructed him to swallow. After taking two potions, he felt much better.

"Thank you, Professor," he said gratefully as he opened his eyes, noticing that the world had stopped moving forth and backwards. "That's much better."

"Well, it may be better, Harry, but you're very ill, and I have to take you to the hospital wing," Snape informed him in his soft voice that he seemed to have reserved for his little snakes. "I just want to tell you that I spoke with the Headmaster, and he is going to think about the matter. He thinks he might have a solution by the Halloween feast tomorrow night; however, for the time being, you're exempt from your Defence class, and I will teach you in the evenings. We'll speak about the matter when you're back to health. Now, do you think you can get up and accompany me to the hospital wing, or do I have to put you on a stretcher?"

"I can walk," Harry replied, terrified at the thought of floating through the halls on a stretcher. Steadied by Snape on his left side and Brianna on the right, he slowly made his way to the hospital wing, sighing in relief as he lay down on the bed next to the Healer's office.

"A bad case of the green fever," Pomfrey diagnosed, "I wonder where you caught that. Did you touch any sick animal during the last twenty-four hours?"

"I took an owl to Hagrid yesterday, because it seemed to be sick when Brianna and I visited Hedwig," Harry said thoughtfully.

"That's it then. Your skin is going to become completely green for a few days. Now, did anyone touch you today?"

"Um... Professor Snape and Brianna," Harry replied hesitantly.

"Very well then, let me check on the two of you," Pomfrey said resolutely, ushering Snape and Brianna on two empty beds. "No, you don't have it so far, but you need the antidote, and I'm keeping you here overnight for observation."

"Forget it, Poppy," Snape scoffed. "I have to attend the Halloween Feast. I'll be careful that no one touches me."

"Well then, I want to see you back here for another check-up after the Feast," Pomfrey said sternly, handing out the potions and allowed Brianna to sit on the edge of Harry's bed.

During the next few hours, the twins talked quietly, observing Harry's skin slowly turn green. "This looks very icky," Brianna said, throwing Harry a sympathetic look.

"No, I only feel feverish and my head hurts a bit, but other than that I'm fine," Harry replied, looking back from half-open glassy eyes.

HP

All of a sudden, the hospital wing's door was thrown open, and the twins watched startled as McGonagall and Dumbledore rushed someone on a stretcher into the room, placing the person on the bed next to Harry.

"How could that happen, Albus?" McGonagall queried in a terrified voice.

"I have no idea, Minerva," the Headmaster replied quietly. "Poppy, we need you quickly, and we need Severus here as well."

"Who is that?" Brianna whispered to Harry, trying to get a glimpse on the figure, while Madam Pomfrey hurriedly placed a screen between the two beds. However, the figure looked so beaten up that she couldn't recognize anyone. Turning back to Harry, she saw that her brother's face had taken on a dark green shade and he was gripping his head in agony.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I hope you liked the chapter._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	10. New Friends

**10 – New Friends**

"It must be Quirrel," Harry pressed out, "my head is going to explode."

Brianna jumped up from the bed and stepped around the screen. "Madam Pomfrey, I'm going to take Harry out of here. He can't bear the headache he always gets near Quirrel."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Take him into my office and make him lie down on the sofa."

"No Ms. Mackenzie, wait a moment. I need your brother to cast a spell. This is exactly the right timing," Dumbledore spoke up thoughtfully, before he rushed towards Harry's bed and quickly filled the boy in on his plan.

"Headmaster, I'm sorry, but I need a headache potion, before I can do any magic," Harry groaned.

"Here." Suddenly, his Head of House leaned over him. Harry hadn't even noticed that he had entered the hospital wing. He quickly gulped down the potion and threw Snape a grateful look when he helped him to stand up. "We'll speak the incantation together," the professor said soothingly as he steadied Harry while they stepped around the screen.

Quirrel's beaten body was lying on the bed, but his turban was gone, and a strange, ugly face replaced the professor's. "Now!" Dumbledore shouted, and the three wizards raised their wands and cast the spell against the creature.

The creature began to shout in agony, while its face shrank until it was completely gone and was replaced by blank skin. At the same time, Harry's head exploded in pain and he sank to the floor, unconscious. The Headmaster pointed his wand at the spot where the creature's face had been and cast the scourgify spell, causing Quirrel's wounded face to reappear. "That was just to be sure that he's gone," he told his colleagues, while Snape placed Harry back on his bed.

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for Quirinus," Pomfrey said sadly. "Albus, could you take him to St. Mungo's please? Maybe they can do something."

Ten minutes later, the Headmaster took his former colleague away with a Portkey.

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Only when Snape came to visit Harry after classes the next day, he explained to the boy that the Dark Lord had possessed Quirrel and had apparently forced him to bring a Troll into the school. When Quirrel's colleagues ordered him to remove the Troll since it was his job as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Voldemort's spirit made the Troll attack Quirrel, hoping that he could take over his body; however, Harry and the teachers cast the Headmaster's spell right in time and efficiently destroyed the spirit, before he could take over the other man's body.

"Very well done, Harry. Five snakes for casting an important spell at the right time," Snape said gently, standing up from his seat as Kathy entered the hospital wing. "You may sit here, but you mustn't touch your son, if you don't want to be put in quarantine or have to show up for a potion and a check up here twice a day," he informed her in his soft, silky voice, causing Kathy to throw him a terrified look.

"Is Harry so ill?" she asked, horrified, looking sharply at her son.

"No Mum, I'm fine. I'm just a little green, and you might get it if you touch me," Harry replied, trying to put up the healthiest expression he could muster.

The Potions Master raised an eye at the boy's mother that showed her clearly that he would explain a bit more during their Potions lesson after dinner. Kathy remained and made Harry eat dinner, while Brianna was sent to the Great Hall.

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Much later the same evening, McGonagall entered the hospital wing with a first year in tow. The girl was struggling, but McGonagall held her arm in a firm grip and ushered her to the bed next to Harry.

"Professor, please let me go. I'm fine. My temperature was a bit high because I just took a hot shower, and I had to sneeze because it was dusty in the common room. I haven't finished my homework yet, and Professor Snape is going to take hundreds of House points if I haven't written ten inches of essay by tomorrow morning."

"Ms. Granger, please calm down. You won't get forty (104) degrees of fever just by taking a hot shower. You're ill, and Professor Snape won't take any points. Ms. Mackenzie, do you know where Madam Pomfrey is?"

"I think she was called away to Hufflepuff, but I'm not sure. She's been gone quite a while," Brianna replied in a slightly annoyed tone. In fact, Harry had been waiting for the Mediwitch to return and give him the next dose of his potions that was overdue. "I hope she'll come back soon. Harry is feeling quite miserable," she added, throwing her brother a worried look.

"I'm fine, Brianna. No problem. If it was so bad, I'd call the Professor, but it's all right," Harry objected in a small voice.

"I'll call Professor Snape," McGonagall decided after a glance in Harry's green, flushed face and hurried to the fireplace.

Before Snape could even check on her, Hermione pleaded, "Please let me go, Professor; I'm fine."

The professor raised an eyebrow at his colleague, before he quickly checked on Hermione and said, "You have the wizard's flu, Ms. Granger. Two days in this bed here and you'll be right as rain again."

"But sir, I need to do that ten foot essay for you for tomorrow," Hermione objected hoarsely. "May I please..."

"Ms. Granger, I'll give you a potion for the flu and a fever reducer, and then I'm going to send an elf to fetch your homework, okay?" Snape smirked.

"All right, thank you." Hermione sighed in relief and obediently gulped down the potions the teacher handed her. Instants later, she was fast asleep.

"Such a pity," the Potions Master mumbled, causing McGonagall and the twins to chuckle as he stepped over to Harry's bedside.

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Madam Pomfrey had been called to a mass outbreak of the wizard's flu in Hufflepuff, where she also spent a large part of the following day. She had just left to look after her patients in the dormitories, when Hermione scrambled out of her bed.

"Harry, did you see where she put my clothes?" she asked hesitantly, obviously shivering as she glanced around.

"No, I've no idea," Harry lied and slowly sat up. "You should stay in bed. You're sick." '_Of course I'd like to run away from here too, but I don't want to get toads_,' he mused.

"I need to do my homework," Hermione replied urgently. "Otherwise, the professors will take points."

Harry sighed. "Imagine how many points you'll receive if you return to Gryffindor and cause a mass outbreak of the flu like the one in Hufflepuff."

"Oh, that's true," the girl replied, "but I still need my books."

"Let me tell you something. I'll ask Brianna to copy her notes for you like she does it for me. All right?" Harry suggested gently.

Brianna agreed, and by the time Harry and Hermione were released from the hospital wing two days later, Hermione and the twins had become good friends, and they agreed to meet in the library to study together between the last afternoon class and dinner from time to time.

"I wonder if it's all right to have friends in other Houses," Harry said to Brianna as they walked down to the dungeons.

"Hmm, that's a good question. In the worst case, we have to pretend it was by chance that we met her in the library. I wonder when we're going to get a new Defence teacher," Brianna said thoughtfully.

"That's true. I'm looking forward to it. I like Defence, although I've hardly learned anything so far, because of these stupid headaches."

"Oh Harry, good you're back," Marcus Flint said, coming from behind. "Don't forget that we have practice tonight, and see that you stay healthy. The first match is in ten days. We definitely need you as Seeker."

"Don't worry, I'll play," Harry replied firmly, knowing that he was able to hide everything from anyone if necessary.

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When Harry sat at the Slytherin table for breakfast a few days later, Hedwig flew in together with the post owls and handed him a letter. "From Mum," he said in surprise, showing it to his sister.

"Well, open it," she replied, "what are you waiting for?"

'_Dear Harry_,' it said, '_Tonight, I'm going to have Potions class. Please come to Professor Snape's office after dinner, so I can speak with you for a moment. You may bring Brianna, if you want. Love, Mum_.'

"Hmmm, that's strange," Harry said, causing his sister to smirk. "Hey, you know something, don't you?" he asked, getting suspicious at her amused expression.

"Oh well, Mum just wants to scold you about being reckless, you know, playing Quidditch in the rain and not studying enough and..."

"Tell me that's not true," Harry replied in a small voice. '_Maybe she's right and I do have to study more. Perhaps she's disappointed, because I didn't do well enough so far and I already missed lots of classes_.'

"Harry!" his sister's voice penetrated his mind. "I'm sorry, Harry, that was a joke. It's all right, everything is fine. I know what Mum wants, and it's something good. I'm sorry, Harry."

"Okay," Harry replied. Nevertheless, he didn't feel completely relieved at her explanation and couldn't help harbouring dark thoughts during his classes. He even managed to lose five House points during the Transfiguration class, because McGonagall had to call him three times, before he turned his attention back to the class.

When he sat at the dinner table, completely lost in his thoughts again, his Head of House walked by the table and sneered, "One toad for not eating your meal. Mr. Mackenzie, follow me."

Harry trailed behind the professor, feeling very much reassured that Brianna quickly caught up with him. When they reached Snape's office, Kathy was already waiting for them, pulling the twins in a bear hug.

The professor motioned them to take a seat, before he addressed Harry, explaining that first year students were not allowed to possess their own broom. "However, since you're on the Quidditch team, we decided to make an exception when your mother offered to buy you a broom. However, it will have to remain in my office. You may come and get it before your practice and before the match of course, but you have to bring it back afterwards."

"Of course sir," Harry said happily, watching in excitement as his mother fetched a long package from one of the shelves and handed it to him. 'Nimbus 2000' was written on the side in fine letters. "Thank you Mum, thank you, Professor," Harry shouted, excitedly hugging Kathy.

"Well, then I suggest you look for your teammates and try your new broom out. I already booked the Quidditch pitch for you for tonight," Snape said softly, dismissing the two first years.

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To Harry's surprise, the Quidditch team was already waiting for him in front of the professor's office. "Like everyone knew except for me," he mumbled, annoyed, as he ran behind the others towards the grounds.

The rain from the evening before had cleared up, but it was very cold, and it remained cold. However, the sunshine was beautiful when the team members mounted their brooms for the first Quidditch match of the season a week later. Harry had to try hard not to panic at the thought that the other players were so much larger than him and had so much more practice. However, his housemates did their best to encourage him.

"Don't worry, Harry; I've seen you fly. You're good," Draco told him when he sat next to Harry at the breakfast table.

Knowing that Draco had a lot of experience, this praise meant a lot to Harry, and the instant he mounted his Nimbus 2000 and began to look out for the Snitch, he forgot his fears. He circled above the other players, wondering how the Snitch was able to hide in front of the clear blue sky. He watched as the Gryffindors managed to gain a few points and feverishly searched for the Snitch. Once, he thought he saw it, but it was only a reflection from another player's watch. By the time, he finally spotted the golden ball, the Gryffindor Seeker had seen it as well, and Harry raced behind the older boy.

However, a few seconds before Harry could finally reach out for the Snitch, the Gryffindor Seeker extended his hand to wrap it around the struggling ball, which, unbeknownst to Harry, who closed his eyes in horror, escaped in the last second.

Harry slowly descended towards the ground. _'I should have known that I wasn't able to beat a sixth year, especially as I've never flown before. The others will be so disappointed_,' he thought sadly. '_Well, at least, I won't get toads for a lost game_.'

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I hope you liked the chapter._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	11. Winter Holidays

**11 – Winter Holidays**

Suddenly, the voice of Lee Jordan, a Gryffindor student, who was making the announcements to lead through the match, pulled him out of his reverie. "Has Mackenzie given up? There is still a Snitch to catch!"

'_What?_' Harry thought incredulously and pulled up again. Thirteen minutes later, he managed to catch the tiny golden ball, feeling very happy as he quickly closed his hand around the struggling Snitch.

The green side of the Quidditch pitch erupted in applause, and Harry felt himself being lifted onto many hands, before he could even properly land his broom on the ground.

A hot shower and thirty minutes later, a huge party began in the Slytherin common room, while Harry stood in front of the board, looking at his fifteen snakes in amazement. '_Ten of them just for catching the Snitch_,' he mused; '_that's amazing_.'

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The following weeks passed uneventfully, and soon the winter holidays began. Brianna and Harry took the Hogwarts Express home, thoroughly enjoying the train ride together with their friends. '_I still like the Floo more_,' Harry thought when they searched for their mother on the platform.

"Ah, as much as I love Hogwarts, it's good to be home," Harry sighed as he made himself comfortable on the sofa in the living room.

"That's true, Harry," Brianna agreed immediately. "Harry, we should try to read all the books here," she said, pointing to the shelf of books they had received in the summer.

"I wonder why the Hat didn't place you in Ravenclaw," Harry laughed. "Yeah, why not, although I suppose we should do our homework first."

However, they wouldn't have much time during these holidays. The next day was Christmas Eve, and Kathy suggested making a trip to Diagon Alley for the day.

"How are we going to get there though, Mum?" Harry asked curiously. "Shouldn't we ask Dumbledore to connect our fireplace to the normal Floo network, so we could just use the Floo to go anywhere?"

Kathy sighed. "In fact, I thought so too and asked him last week. But he told me that it would be too dangerous for you, that it was bad enough that we had taken you from your relatives and that we should leave the fireplace as it is, only connected straight to Hogwarts."

"Oh," Harry said in surprise. "The Headmaster obviously doesn't like me, does he?"

"He is merely concerned for your safety. Believe me, he had a fit in the summer when I told him who you were. He was even considering sending you to live with your cousin, because your relatives were in prison. Professor Snape was the one who jumped in and told him to leave you in peace."

"Well, maybe he has a reason to be concerned, considering what happened with Quirrel, who was after Harry right from the beginning, but I trust Snape more than the Headmaster," Brianna threw in.

"So do I," Harry agreed. "So, are we going to go by car?" he asked doubtfully, knowing that his mother didn't like driving in the rain that was lightly mixed with snow.

Kathy laughed. "No sweetie; have you ever heard of the Knight Bus?"

"The night bus?" Brianna queried in disbelief, causing Kathy to chuckle and explain about the Knight Bus.

In the morning, Kathy called the Knight Bus, and the twins were amazed at the triple bus that appeared out of nowhere after a few minutes. The bus was extremely crowded with witches and wizards, who were obviously doing last minute Christmas shopping. They had to sit on the top deck, which was so high that they had the impression as if they were flying. Brianna couldn't decide if she should be scared or enjoy herself when the bus made a huge jump and the driver announced, "Leaky Cauldron. Next stop St. Mungo's."

Nearly everyone, who hadn't got off the bus at Hogsmeade, which had been the previous stop, lined up to get off here, and the three Mackenzies passed the Leaky Cauldron in a large group of people. Even the back door to Diagon Alley was open. Kathy took them to Flourish and Blotts to show them the huge Christmas tree in front of the bookshop, remembering that Minerva had told her that it was worth to show it to the children.

"We need a few presents for the teachers at Hogwarts, at least I do. They invited us to spend Christmas day at Hogwarts, and as far as I am concerned, I think we should follow the invitation. What do you think?"

"Of course," Brianna agreed. "I love Hogwarts."

"So do I, and it would spare us the hassle to put up a Christmas tree," Harry replied thoughtfully. "Why don't we brew fruit drops for the professors, Brianna? You know there are a few recipes in one of the books we received last summer."

"That's a brilliant idea," Brianna agreed, and after a longer discussion of which drops they should brew for whom, they went to the apothecary to buy their ingredients and a mould for the drops.

After a few hours of Christmas shopping for each other, they left for Muggle London, so Kathy could buy some Muggle tea for McGonagall and Flitwick and wine for Snape and the Headmaster. It was already dark when they took the Knight Bus back to Little Whinging, and the twins were dead on their feet.

"We still have to brew the fruit drops," Harry reminded Brianna, and the two children put up one of their cauldrons in the kitchen and spent the next few hours brewing, ginger milk drops for McGonagall, chocolate ginger drops for Madam Pomfrey, and dark chocolate drops with blueberries and pepper for Snape. "I hope they'll like it. Let's take a bit from all of them and give it to Mum," Harry said yawning as they cleaned up the kitchen afterwards.

"Harry, you're not going to get sick, are you?" Brianna asked worriedly, giving her brother a sharp look.

"No, I'm only tired," he replied, yawning again. "Good night, Mum, night Brianna." Leaving the wrapping task to his sister, he went straight to bed, wondering if Brianna would like the present he had unobtrusively bought for her at Flourish and Blotts.

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In the morning, the ground was covered with snow. "Wow," Harry said amazed, "that's really a lot of snow. Thank God we can use the Floo to Hogwarts. Oh well, the Knight Bus would just jump over it," he added as an afterthought.

"That's true," Brianna said thoughtfully. "Oh, can't we take the Knight Bus to Hogwarts instead of the Floo? Please, let's do that. Everything must look so beautiful."

Kathy and Harry agreed, chuckling, and they once more took the Knight Bus, sitting at the top deck again. To their disappointment, the bus was fairly empty at that time of Christmas morning, and it took only a few minutes to arrive at Hogsmeade. Fortunately, someone had be kind enough to make a path through the snow, '_probably with magic_,' Harry thought, so they reached the castle on dry ground. Nevertheless, he felt extremely cold and was glad when they finally stepped into the warmth of the entrance hall.

"Ah, there you are," the Headmaster greeted them pleasantly and led them into the Great Hall, where the teachers and a few students that had remained in the castle over Christmas were just having breakfast.

Even if he wasn't hungry in the least after having a small bowl of porridge earlier at home, Harry happily warmed his hands around the mug of tea McGonagall pressed into his hands. '_The Christmas tree is gorgeous; I wonder if the teachers would be willing to teach us how to decorate such a tree_,' he mused, completely tuning the conversation out as he admired the tree. The decoration was a mixture of playing cats, bubbling cauldrons and twinkling stars. However, there was also a Snitch flying around the branches, while beautiful white snowflakes steadily swept down from the top but never reached the ground.

"Do you like the tree, Harry?" Dumbledore queried, smiling.

"It's absolutely fascinating," Harry replied, amazed.

"You can help us decorate it next year if you want," McGonagall offered gently, causing Brianna and Harry to happily agree.

"All right then, let's go and have our snowman building contest," the Headmaster announced, leaving Harry to wonder when they had agreed on such a thing.

"I know what we can do," Brianna giggled when they stepped out onto the grounds. "Where is Mum by the way?"

"She just went to put the presents under the tree," Harry replied. "What do you want to do?"

"We could make a life size image of Snape brewing potions."

"That's a wonderful idea," Kathy agreed as she stepped over to the twins. "Is that all right with you, too, Harry?"

Harry agreed and the three set to work. For the next two hours, they worked really hard, and Harry was glad when Madam Pomfrey came and asked if she could join them and help. By the time they finished their project, Harry stepped a few steps back to admire their work, when Ron Weasley came from behind and slid a handful of snow into his neck, causing Harry to let out a small gasp at the icy experience in his back.

"Leave it to the Slytherins to build the greasy old git," Ron sneered, causing Brianna to throw him an angry glare.

"You're only jealous, because Draco was better in the fight the other day, but leave Harry in peace. He has nothing to do with your fights," she shouted, pulling Harry away with her.

Noticing that Harry was shivering violently, Madam Pomfrey ushered everyone back into the Great Hall, while Dumbledore and McGonagall walked around to examine the snow statues. Twenty minutes later, the Headmaster and his Deputy took their seats at the table, and Dumbledore announced, "The third price, a five galleons voucher from Honeydukes, goes to the Weasley twins for their image of a cat."

"A cat?" George squealed.

"That's not just a cat," Fred added, before the twins explained, "That's Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form."

The second price, a ten galleons voucher from Honeydukes, went to two Hufflepuff students for their huge Snitch. "The first price, a self-refilling chocolate frog box," McGonagall continued, "goes to the Mackenzies for Professor Snape in his potions lab. Very well done, Kathy, Brianna and Harry."

"What the..." Snape began, throwing the three winners a questioning look.

Kathy laughed. "Come with me, Professor. I'll show you," and Brianna and Harry watched with amusement as their Head of House and their mother left the Great Hall, talking animatedly.

The rest of the morning was spent opening presents and drinking tea, until the Weasley twins suggested going out on the grounds for a snowball fight. Most of the students happily agreed; however, Harry was still shivering in spite of the warmth in the Hall and his throat had begun to hurt, so he declined. "I'd love to read my new books," he explained when everyone looked at him in concern.

"Would you care for a Potions lesson?" Snape asked Kathy, who happily agreed.

"Oh, may we participate as well, sir?" Brianna asked eagerly, glancing at Harry, who looked up with interest.

"You may," the teacher replied, smirking. "You can help me brew potions for Madam Pomfrey."

Brianna and Harry rose from their chairs, but before they could follow the Potions Master out of the Great Hall, the Headmaster kept him back. "Severus, please allow me to borrow Kathy for a few minutes. I need to speak with her about something in private."

"Very well; I'll see you afterwards then," Snape said and strode out of the Great Hall with the twins in tow.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. Due to the lack of reviews for the last chapter, I guess that you didn't like it. Please tell me if there is something you don't like; I might still be able to rewrite the chapter and change parts of it. Well, I hope you liked this chapter._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	12. New Tasks and Meddlings

**12 – New Tasks and Meddlings**

The Potions Master led his two students into the Potions classroom and motioned them to take a seat, while he set up four cauldrons. "Please explain something to me," he said evenly, throwing Brianna and Harry a stern look. "Where and when did you brew the fruit drops? I assume that you brewed them yourselves?"

Brianna and Harry exchanged a quick look, before Brianna replied, "Yesterday evening at home, sir."

"In the kitchen," Harry added, clearing his throat.

The professor let out a long sigh. "Don't misunderstand me; I'm very glad you like to brew, and I appreciate your chocolate drops very much. They are delicious. However, I want you to understand that the brewing process is a very dangerous one, and many full grown witches and wizards have lost their lives brewing in private. Even if I deem both of you quite adept at brewing, none of you has taken the Potions NEWT or even the Potions OWL yet, neither has your mother. If you want to brew something, you may come to Hogwarts and use the Potions classroom at any time, after contacting me of course, but I'm sure we'll be able to make an arrangement. Please do not brew unsupervised at home."

"All right, sir," Brianna and Harry replied simultaneously.

"Very well then, do you want to brew a headache potion for the hospital wing?"

"Yes, of course," Brianna said enthusiastically. "Harry, do you want to brew or prepare the ingredients?"

"I'll prepare the ingredients," Harry said tiredly, glancing at the recipe the professor laid on the table.

"Harry," Brianna said, grabbing his arm to turn him to face her as the professor left the room to fetch something, "you know you don't have to. You wanted to read, didn't you?"

Harry sighed. "No, that was just an excuse, because I didn't want to go out into the cold anymore." Seeing that Snape hadn't returned yet, he admitted in a small voice, "I think I already caught a cold. I have been freezing ever since this morning."

"Oh no," Brianna groaned, unobtrusively feeling the inner side of Harry's hand, knowing by the quick touch that he was running a temperature. "Harry, let's ask him for a Pepperup potion, before it gets too bad," she told him and turned to the teacher as soon as he returned to the classroom.

"Professor, I think Harry needs a Pepperup potion. He seems to have caught a cold," she said softly, throwing her brother a worried look.

"It's all right," Harry mumbled and continued gathering the ingredients, glad when the professor left the room without a word.

However, a minute later, Snape returned with a phial in his hand and motioned Harry to follow him through his office into what seemed to be his private quarters. "Sit down for a moment," he instructed him, pointing to the sofa. As soon as the boy complied, he pointed his wand at Harry's head, sighing. "Your sister is right. You have a fever. Drink this." He handed him the phial he had fetched earlier.

Harry quickly gulped down the potion, trying not to gag at the foul taste. "Thank you, sir," he said gratefully, noticing that he felt a bit warmer.

"We'll see if it helps," the professor replied, motioning Harry to lie down. "Rest here for a while. I'll come and check on you again later on."

"Why should it not help?" Brianna asked curiously as she followed the teacher back into the classroom.

"If it is a cold, the Pepperup potion will help; however, it won't work for a respiratory infection, and my diagnostic spell didn't show a clear result, probably because the illness is still at its beginning stage," Snape explained patiently.

"Ah, all right, thank you sir," Brianna replied and busied herself with her potion, only looking up when Kathy bustled into the room. "Hi Mum; what did the Headmaster want?" she asked curiously.

Noticing that the professor and Brianna looked at her with a similar questioning look, Kathy laughed. "He wanted to offer me the position of the professor for Muggle Studies; however, in order to be able to teach at Hogwarts from the next school year onwards, I have to take my OWLs in the four main subjects, which are Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, this summer."

"That shouldn't be a problem, Kathy. I can teach you in Potions and Defence," Snape offered in a soft voice.

"Thank you, Severus," Kathy replied, sighing in relief. "He offered I could stay at Hogwarts right away and promised to ask the house-elves to prepare teachers' quarters for me, with rooms for you and Harry of course," she added, turning to her daughter. "Where is Harry by the way? I thought he would be brewing here with you."

"He is taking a short nap," Snape replied evenly, fetching a recipe from the shelf, before he laid it out for Kathy on the table next to Brianna's and pointed to the cauldron he had already prepared for her, nodding contentedly when Kathy studied the recipe with interest.

'_I'm glad she's going to remain at Hogwarts. We can well need a few young teachers among all the old wizards and witches here_,' Snape mused, ignoring the voice at the very back of his head that chuckled and told him, '_There definitely are interesting women that are not dead like Lily_.' The Potions Master sighed and took the stasis charm off his potion as he tried to shove these unsettling thoughts to the back and concentrate on his brewing.

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By the time the three potions makers had finished their potions, Harry was still asleep. "Let's go and see how Harry is doing," Snape suggested after clearing their work space with a flick of his wand, and strode ahead into his private quarters.

"Oh no, is he sick again?" Kathy whispered, taking in her son's flushed face that was scrunched in pain and the beads of sweat on his forehead.

"I'm afraid so," Snape whispered back, pulling his wand. "I gave him a Pepperup potion, which obviously did not work." He waved his wand over the child and sighed. "He has a respiratory infection as well as a middle ear infection. I'll brew a salve for his ear that'll make him feel better. "Please inform the Headmaster and excuse me from Christmas dinner."

"Oh no," Kathy replied horrified. "You can't miss Christmas dinner because of this. Why don't you and Brianna attend dinner and I'll stay with Harry? He's asleep anyway, and you can make the salve for him when you're back."

"No. I'm going to brew the salve for him right away. Please tell the Headmaster. He won't like it, but frankly speaking, I'm not too fond of events like Christmas dinner anyway, so I don't mind at all. Please take your daughter and attend dinner."

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While Kathy and Brianna left the professor's private quarters, the Potions Master put a charm on Harry that would alert him if the boy woke up or had problems, before he retreated to his potions lab, deep in thoughts. '_Kathy_,' he mused, '_could it be that she was the one... during that night... everything was so dark, and she didn't say anything. She only cried. Oh my God, I hope it wasn't her. Kathy is adept at Potions as well, so maybe Brianna just got it from her_.' Sighing, he pulled a cauldron off the shelf and gathered the ingredients he needed for the ear salve.

'_It would be easy to brew a parentage potion_,' the annoying voice at the back of his head spoke up, but Severus dismissed the thought immediately. '_Some things better remain in the dark_,' he decided, trying to concentrate on his brewing, while his thoughts wandered to the boy, who was currently occupying the sofa in his living room.

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At the same time, Kathy and Brianna entered the Great Hall, and Kathy informed the Headmaster that the Potions Master would be missing Christmas dinner, because he was brewing a salve for Harry.

"I'm sure Severus will be glad to have such a good excuse," Minerva said, chuckling, as she motioned Kathy on the empty seat next to her.

"If Harry is ill, you should consider remaining in your new quarters at Hogwarts right away," the Headmaster said gently, before he clapped his hands to make dinner appear on the table. "By the way, I asked the elves to place the entrance to your quarters next to Severus' quarters in the dungeons. Is that all right for you? I thought you might want to be near the Slytherin dormitories."

"Yes sir, thank you so much. I really appreciate it," Kathy replied and absently began to eat her dinner while her thoughts drifted off to the Potions Master who was so kind to her and her children in spite of his intimidating appearance.

After dinner, Minerva and the Headmaster accompanied Kathy and Brianna to their new quarters that consisted of a huge living room, which was build around a fireplace, a bathroom, a tiny kitchen and three bedrooms.

"Well Kathy, you have to design the rooms by yourself," Dumbledore said, chuckling, and proceeded to show her a few spells to change the colour of walls or furniture. "I'll call Severus; I'm sure he'll be glad to help you when he finishes his potion for Harry," he added and left the room, turning to the door to the Potions Master's quarters.

Kathy, Brianna and Minerva stepped into Brianna's room, and Kathy and Brianna tried to turn the walls and the furniture into different shades of blue.

"Wow; this looks awesome," Brianna said in amazement when they were finished and proceeded to continue with the living room.

Brianna had just managed to give the wall a pink polka dot pattern instead of turning the whole wall cream white like her mother had suggested when Dumbledore returned with an extremely unnerved Potions Master in tow.

"Severus, what's wrong?" Minerva asked in concern, causing Severus to throw her a furious look.

"Nothing Minerva, except for the fact that Albus chose Christmas day to inform me that I have to brew the Wolfsbane potion for his new Defence teacher once a month from tomorrow onwards," Severus replied grumpily.

"Severus!" the Headmaster said angrily, mouthing, "I told you not to reveal anything in front of students."

"What is the Wolfsbane potion?" Brianna asked curiously. "May I help you, Professor?"

"I'm afraid not. It'll take the whole night and is very difficult to brew," Severus replied, sighing, and explained the effects of the Wolfsbane potion, before he instructed Brianna to keep the matter for herself.

"I will," she promised, thoughtfully. "I'll only tell Harry."

While the Headmaster and his Deputy left the Mackenzie quarters for a Christmas party at the Ministry, Severus remained and helped Kathy and Brianna decorate the rooms, until a spell he had placed on Harry alerted him to the fact that the boy had woken up.

A short while later, when Kathy showed Harry his new room, Brianna suddenly said, "I need to go home for half an hour. Professor, could you perhaps come with me? I'd like to show you something."

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. My muse really appreciates them! I hope you liked the chapter._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	13. Potions Recipes

**13 – Potions Recipes**

Snape followed Brianna through the Floo to the Mackenzie's home, where the girl led her Head of House to the living room and turned to the shelf with the books she and Harry had received in the summer.

"Professor, can you please help me skim the shelf for potions books and take them to Hogwarts? I'm fairly sure I read something about a "Wolfscure potion," but I can't remember in which book it was. Maybe Harry knows, but since he couldn't come here with me..." She slowly trailed off, noticing that the Potions Master was already deeply engrossed in an old tome.

It took a few minutes, before Snape snapped back to reality and said excitedly, "You're right, Ms. Mackenzie; this books seems to be full of old potions. Most of them are lost in our time. Unfortunately, only the titles are in normal English, while the main parts of the recipes are in Parselscript, but that shouldn't be a problem for your brother. Was this the book you meant?"

"Yeah, I think so," Brianna replied thoughtfully, inwardly grinning at the professor's apparent excitement. "Shall we take all the potions books with us in any case?"

"Very well," Snape said and quickly gathered a large pile of books from the shelf.

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A short while later, Severus and Brianna arrived back in the Mackenzies' new quarters at Hogwarts, spreading the books all over the table in the living room. When Kathy returned to the living room, she looked incredulously at the mess.

"The room isn't even ready yet and you're already making a mess?" she asked in surprise to see the professor involved in this. "What are you doing, Brianna?"

"We're searching for a spell," Severus mumbled absentmindedly.

"Mum, how is Harry? Do you think he could help us?" Brianna asked, ignoring her mother's question completely.

"No Brianna; Harry isn't feeling well today," Kathy replied softly. "Maybe I could help, if you told me what all this fuss was about?"

Brianna quickly filled her mother in, who soon shared the excitement and eagerly began to skim the books.

"Here!" the professor suddenly exclaimed, pointing at one of the last pages of the old tome he had been skimming the whole time. "You were right, Ms. Mackenzie. This recipe is titled, '_The Wolfscure_'. Unfortunately, the whole recipe is in Parselscript, or at least that's what I believe it is."

"Wow! Professor, do you think we'll be able to brew it?" Brianna asked excitedly.

"Will you be able to cure the new Defence professor?" Kathy queried, throwing the professor an amazed look.

Severus let out a long sigh. "First of all, we need to see if your son will be able to translate the recipe for us and if we have all the required ingredients in our time. I'm not sure when this..." He suddenly interrupted himself to look at Harry, who was leaning against the wall in front of his room. "Mr. Mackenzie, what are you doing out of bed?" he asked sharply.

"I had to use the bathroom," Harry replied hoarsely. "What's this entire ruckus about?"

Brianna motioned him over and said excitedly, "We found a potion to cure werewolves! Isn't that great? You only have to translate the recipe for us."

Harry let himself sink on the chair next to his sister and sighed. "I'm sorry; my mind is too foggy to understand what you're talking about."

Severus threw him a stern look. "That's why you're going back to bed right away. Let me just ask one question." He turned the book around for Harry to look at the page he was pointing at. "Can you read this?"

"I can read. Thank you very much," Harry replied indignantly. "I learned to read when I managed to grab a gardening book of my aunt out of the bin and began to teach myself letters at the age of four."

Brianna chuckled. "That's not what the professor meant. He wasn't insulting you. We just want to know if you can read this recipe, because we can't."

Feeling too miserable to show any reaction, Harry looked at the recipe and read something no one could understand.

"Very well; at least we know now that it's Parselscript," Severus stated dryly. "Harry, it's enough. Thank you very much. Now, do you think you'll be able to translate what you just read into plain English for us when you feel better?"

"Hmm?" Harry asked in confusion, causing Brianna to explain that he had read the recipe to them in Parseltongue.

"I don't know, but I can try," Harry replied hoarsely, fiercely rubbing his right ear.

"Don't do that, Harry," Kathy said softly, worriedly glancing at Severus.

"Let me take you back to bed," the Potions Master said softly and gently led Harry into his room, spelling a few more potions, which he was carrying in his robe pockets in case the boy needed them, into Harry's system, causing Harry to drift off to sleep instantly.

With a flick of the professor's wand, all the books took their place in the new bookshelf, and Severus excused himself for the night, promising to come and check on Harry in the morning. Fortunately, in the morning, Harry was feeling much better, and the adults grudgingly allowed him out of bed, knowing that Brianna had been pestering him about the potions recipe from the early morning onwards.

Harry sat at the table in the living room with the old tome and an empty parchment in front of him and began to translate the recipe.

_The Wolves Cure_

'_This recipe cures werewolves from lycanthropy, if it is ingested consecutively on three successive nights between five and ten nights before the full moon. For the brewing process, a golden cauldron without any traces of silver is needed._

_Ingredients:  
1 egg of a basilisk, willingly given  
3 inches of unicorn hair, willingly given_

_5 drops of phoenix tears, willingly given  
7 inches of elves' hair, willingly given  
9 leaves of the mulberry tree  
11 teaspoonfuls of powdered moon fern, harvested at the full moon  
13 spoonfuls of leaves of the trees in the surroundings of where the werewolf takes the potion  
2 teaspoonfuls of powdered fresh ginger  
4 spoonfuls of chocolate slices  
6 drops of a healthy wizard's blood_

_Notes: As of 1699, you find a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts. The basilisk, Amaterasu, knows about the potion and is willing to give an egg for it at any time. The unicorns in the Forbidden Forest around Hogwarts are willing to give their hair if nicely asked. Remember that all magical animals are able to communicate with each other. A small amount of mulberry trees has been planted at the far end of the Forbidden Forest just for this purpose. The wizard's blood must be compatible to the werewolf's blood._

_Brewing instructions: Cut the basilisk egg in small slices..._'

Harry tiredly put the quill down, only now realising that Severus and Brianna were standing behind him, reading over his shoulder. "I'm sorry; may I take a short break?" he asked, all of a sudden not feeling too well anymore.

"Of course, Harry, go back to bed," Severus said softly. "You did that very well, and I believe that we're going to be very busy gathering the ingredients before we can even think about brewing the potion. I'll come and check on you in a few minutes."

Brianna pulled Harry back into his room, sitting on the edge of his bed. "You did a wonderful job translating all the ingredients," she said in a soft voice that was clearly laced with pride. "Don't worry about the rest of the recipe. It's not urgent."

When Severus entered the room a few minutes later, Harry was curled up under his covers with his eyes closed, while Lissy was slithering around him in apparent excitement, eagerly hissing to the boy.

'_Oh right, we could use her to speak to the unicorns_,' Severus mused, wondering what Lissy was telling Harry and if she would mind if he waved his wand to check on the boy.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I'm sorry this chapter is a bit short..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	14. Ingredients

**14 – Ingredients**

"Harry, are you lissstening at all?" Lissy hissed, causing Harry to sigh.

"Yesss, Lisssy; I'm just a bit tired, but it would be great if you could go and ask Amaterasssu how we can get to her."

"Okay, but that'ssss not what I meant. The dark one isss there and wantsss to sspeak with you."

Harry lazily opened his eyes. "Sorry sir," he mumbled in exhaustion.

Severus let out a long sigh. "There is nothing you have to be sorry about, Harry. On the contrary; I am sorry to make you aggravate your condition by translating a recipe for me."

"No problem sir. I'm glad I could help. Lissy knows Amaterasu she told me. Maybe she can lead you to her and ask her for the egg."

"No," Lissy hissed in an upset voice. "I have to go and asssk her to turn her eyesss white, before I can take the dark one to her; otherwise, he'll die asss ssoon asss he looksss at her. Tell him that I'll be back shortly."

Harry translated, and Severus nodded his agreement. "Thank you, Lissy. I really appreciate your cooperation," he said gratefully and proceeded to check on Harry and make him drink a fever reducing potion. "Now try to rest for a while. I might need you later on to translate what Lissy says," he said in a soft voice and gently placed a cold cloth on the boy's forehead, before he quietly left the room.

Severus, Kathy and Brianna eagerly studied the recipe, as far as Harry had translated it, until Lissy returned and motioned for Severus to follow her into Harry's room.

"Lissy said Amaterasu was willing to lay an egg for you, provided that you use it for the wolfscure. She told her that she helped with an egg for the wolfscure before," Harry translated. "Lissy will go and collect the egg in two weeks' time."

"Does he want me to ssspeak with the unicornsss?" Lissy queried.

Severus gratefully agreed, and together with Kathy, who insisted to accompany him, he followed the small snake into the Forbidden Forest, while Brianna stayed at home to keep Harry company.

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Severus was glad when they met Hagrid on their way and the half-giant offered to accompany them to the unicorns. However, even Hagrid couldn't help them to comprehend why the unicorns let out angry growls at their sight, and they couldn't understand what Lissy tried to tell them.

Suddenly, Lissy quieted and to Severus' surprise, after a short while, the unicorns suddenly

bowed their heads in his direction, before finally five of them stepped in front of him, turning their heads, so that he could cut their hair. A short while later, Severus carefully pocketed the necessary amount of unicorn hair and thanked the animals profusely.

"Ye better ask Fawkes to flash ye to the end of'e forest to get'em mulberry leaves," Hagrid advised him when the small group returned to the castle.

Severus and Kathy agreed but decided to return to the Mackenzies' quarters and check on Harry first. They were torn between laughter and annoyance at the scene in front of them. Harry was sitting in his bed, reading and translating the recipe of the wolfscure potion aloud, while Brianna had made herself comfortable on the edge of his bed and was eagerly scribbling his words on a parchment.

"We're nearly finished," Harry said absentmindedly as he continued to dictate Brianna the rest of the brewing instructions.

Kathy smiled as she sat next to Brianna, while Severus stood behind the girl and read over her shoulder with interest. Only when Harry laid the book aside and Brianna put down her quill, Severus asked sternly, "Which part of 'rest for a while' did you not understand, Mr. Mackenzie?"

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I felt fine and we wanted to finish the recipe for you," Harry replied in a small voice. "Did the unicorns understand what you had nothing to do with the slaughtering of unicorns by the way?" Seeing that Severus looked at him in confusion, he elaborated, "Lissy asked me telepathically what she was supposed to tell the unicorns. Apparently they were angry, because a few months ago, a human came and slaughtered several of them. They were not willing to work together with humans anymore, and I asked her to tell them that you vanquished that human because of what he did and that you would never harm a unicorn."

"Ah, all right. Yes, all of a sudden they were cooperative and allowed me to take their hair. Thank you, Harry," Severus replied and showed the students the unicorn hair. "Now I'm going to put this into my lab to keep the hair fresh, and then I'll try to get the mulberry leaves," he said and excused himself, nodding absentmindedly when Kathy followed him out of the room.

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On a Saturday morning two weeks later, Severus strode behind the Slytherin table when breakfast was about to end and snarled, "Mackenzie and Mackenzie, follow me."

Brianna and Harry exchanged a confused look, but immediately stood up and hurried behind the professor out of the Great Hall. Their Head of House was waiting for them in the entrance hall.

"Mr. Mackenzie, I took the liberty to instruct your familiar to visit the basilisk and ask her to turn her eyes white, so that I can go to fetch the egg from her. I thought you might want to accompany me into Salazar Slytherin's rooms?"

"Of course, sir," Brianna and Harry blurted out simultaneously, looking eagerly at the professor.

A few minutes later, Lissy made her way into the entrance hall and motioned for them to follow her. She led Brianna, Severus and Harry out onto the grounds and behind the lake, where she hissed, "Open" at a huge stone that turned around, revealing a narrow corridor. "I'm sorry, this is made for snakes," she told Harry, seeing that the three humans had to crawl in order to follow her.

The corridor went downwards for a while, before they suddenly found themselves in a huge room. "This is Salazzar Slytherin'sss chamber," Lissy informed them, "and thisss iss Amaterasssu."

The three humans looked in awe at the huge basilisk that was curled up in front of them, letting her huge, white eyes wander over them.

"I have an egg for you," she hissed gently, revealing a huge, dark grey egg from under her large body.

"Thank you ssso much for your help," Harry hissed gratefully as he carefully accepted the present.

"Aww, a speaker like Salazzzar," Amaterasu hissed back happily. "I understand that you are in a hurry now, because you have to brew an important potion, but you mussst come back and visssit me. I will show you around Salazzzar'ss chamber. It iss huge and has many interesting roomsss."

"Thank you very much for your offer," Harry said with interest. "My sisster, our Professor and I would love to see everything. We'll come back ass soon ass we can."

"Go back this way," the basilisk instructed him, nodding her head towards a different part of the room. "This path is easier for humans to walk. At the end, you just have to tell the door to open. It leadsss straight into the main part of the castle. Don't forget to close the door afterwards."

"Now we can begin to brew the Wolfscure potion," Severus said contentedly as they made their way back to the exit right behind the lake. "Do the two of you want to assist?"

He did not have to ask Brianna and Harry again. Of course they wanted, and they spent the whole day brewing the difficult potion together with their Head of House.

"I just hope it'll work," Brianna said, sighing, as they tiredly watched Severus magically clean up their work space.

The professor smirked. "We'll have to wait for two weeks. Professor Lupin needs to take the potion next week, and the full moon is in twelve days. Provided that the translation was accurate..."

"Oh no," Harry interrupted the professor, looking at him in shock. "What if I made a grave mistake, and the potion causes him harm? Professor, are you sure that it is safe for Professor Lupin to take the potion? I wouldn't want to kill him. He is really nice," he blurted out, terrified.

Brianna chuckled as she looked at Severus, who observed her brother with apparent amusement. "Of course your translation was accurate," he said, smirking. "I am sorry, Harry. I was just teasing you. While we waited for the basilisk egg, I researched the potion in detail, and I am sure that it is correct. Of course I can't guarantee that it will work though. We can only wait and see."

'_I hate waiting for such a long time_,' Harry thought, sighing.

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During the following week, something happened that made Brianna and Harry for once forget the matter. It was just a few days before Slytherin's next Quidditch match that the reserve Seeker, Terrance, who was following Harry into a huge dive, did not manage to pull up in time and crashed into the grounds. According to their Head of House, Terrance was lucky, because he didn't break any bones; however, he was in the hospital wing with a bad concussion. Unfortunately, later the same day, Harry noticed that his ears began to hurt again. He secretly told his sister about it, who advised him to go to Madam Pomfrey to receive a potion, before it became really bad. However, when Harry complied, hoping that he would be allowed to leave right after taking a Pepperup potion, the Mediwitch grudgingly let him go but informed him that he had an infection of the middle ear again and wasn't allowed to fly for at least a week.

'_Oh no, but I have to play in the match_,' Harry thought, terrified. However, before Brianna could say anything, he quickly replied, "All right," resolving to forget the Healer's instruction right away. '_If I just agree, maybe she'll forget to tell Snape about it_,' he thought, wondering if he should skip the last two practices in order to let sleeping dogs lie before the important match.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments and sorry for the delay!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	15. Relationships

**15 – Relationships**

Harry was lucky. Due to a sudden mass outbreak of the scarlet fever in Ravenclaw, Madam Pomfrey and Severus were indeed so busy that the information about him not being allowed to play Quidditch remained unheard by the Slytherin Head. Harry quietly informed his team mates, who agreed that he should observe the practice from the ground and keep quiet about the matter in order to be able to play in the match against Hufflepuff.

On Saturday morning, Harry obediently took the last dose of his potion that Madam Pomfrey had prescribed and readied himself for the match. At breakfast in the Great Hall, everyone seemed as excited as Harry, and there was no other topic than Quidditch on this morning.

"Harry, are you sure that you want to play today?" Brianna asked quietly when they headed out onto the grounds a short while later.

"Of course," Harry replied, smiling. "I feel absolutely fine, and my ears don't hurt at all."

It was a wonderful day. There was no cloud in the sky, and it was relatively warm. Harry felt wonderful as he took into the air together with his team colleagues. However, after an hour of flying, he suddenly began to feel dizzy, and the feeling only intensified when he flew upwards or downwards. '_All right then, I'll just have to try to move as less as possible and concentrate on finding the Snitch_,' Harry thought, noticing that the pain in his right ear was back full force. By the time he finally caught the struggling, golden ball, he felt absolutely miserable. He somehow managed to safely land on the ground, glad that Brianna pulled him into a bear hug, before anyone else could get to him.

"Brianna, can you help me inside?" Harry whispered, trusting that his sister would understand immediately.

While Madam Hooch still announced Slytherin's victory, and the players congratulated each other, Brianna and Harry unobtrusively headed towards the castle. Kathy was the only one, who noticed them, knowing instinctively that something had to be very wrong. She quickly followed her children, catching up with them on the way home.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked in concern as she hurried to help Brianna steadying him, causing the boy to cast her a desperate look.

Deciding to tell her mother the truth, Brianna quickly explained, while they led Harry into his room.

"Harry, I'm not going to scold you now, because you're clearly unwell, but we're going to speak about this once you feel better," Kathy said calmly, before she asked thoughtfully, "Do your ears hurt, or what exactly is wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Mum," Harry said quietly. "My ears hurt and I feel dizzy, but it's all right. Let me just stay here for a while, and it'll probably be better."

"We'll see," Kathy said, looking at him in concern. "If you're not feeling better in an hour, I'm going to call Madam Pomfrey or at least Professor Snape."

Feeling too miserable to protest, Harry merely closed his eyes. Brianna and Kathy checked on him every now and then; however, an hour later, Harry's condition had not improved in the slightest, and Kathy decided to speak with Severus. '_Oh no, he will be so angry, and I'm going to get a dozen toads_,' Harry thought but couldn't deny that he needed the professor's help.

Professor Snape had a very angry expression on his face as he checked on the boy. "Mr. Mackenzie, since your mother already told me that you will be grounded to her quarters for a month, I will not add any further punishment to this," he said sternly. "However, you will not be able to fly for at least a month, and you will come to my office every evening, so that I can check on you."

"Yes sir," Harry replied in a small voice, feverishly trying to remember when the next Quidditch match was. '_Probably only in May_,' he thought in relief.

"Professor, may I stay at home, too?" Brianna asked pleadingly, causing the professor to quirk an eyebrow.

"No, Ms. Mackenzie," he said sternly. "Your brother has to stay here, because he is apparently unable to take care of himself. You will return to your dormitory before curfew. No exceptions."

"Yes sir," Brianna replied obediently and followed her mother and the professor out of the room, seeing that Harry drifted off into a potions' induced slumber. She remained in the door frame, hesitantly listening to the adults' conversation.

"Severus, I didn't mean to ground Harry as a punishment," Kathy said in a soft voice. "It's just that I think I need to keep an eye on him for a while."

"I know that," Snape replied in his soft, baritone voice that he always used towards them, except for when he was scolding Harry or her. "He already punished himself enough, because he will probably frequently suffer from vertigo due to his recklessness. It might even be that he won't be able to fly for a long time."

Kathy let out a long sigh. "I know nothing about these things. Will you help me to keep an eye on him, please? I think that he is still suffering from the neglect that he received at his relatives' house, which is why he acts so irresponsible towards himself."

When Kathy hesitantly invited the professor for tea, Brianna suddenly felt bad for eavesdropping and returned into Harry's room to stay with her brother.

Harry remained in bed the whole weekend, and even on Monday morning, he still didn't feel overly well; however, he efficiently hid from his mother that he was still having dizzy spells and attended classes. When he returned home in the afternoon and went straight to bed, Kathy cast Brianna a concerned look. "Should I call Madam Pomfrey or better Professor Snape?" she wondered aloud.

"Don't call Madam Pomfrey," Brianna replied immediately. "She still doesn't know that Harry played Quidditch on Saturday, provided that Snape didn't tell her. Why don't you fetch him? You like being together with him, don't you?"

Kathy looked at her daughter in shock. "Is that so obvious?" she asked finally.

Brianna chuckled. "Yes, oh well, at least for Harry and me. I don't think anyone else will have noticed that though. It's just that Harry and I know you too well."

"Harry knows as well?" Kathy asked, terrified. "I just hope Professor Snape doesn't know, since he doesn't seem to return the feeling."

"I think he does," Brianna disagreed, "considering how often he allows you to brew together."

Kathy rolled her eyes. "In case you forgot, I have to take my OWLs at the end of the school year, and he is teaching me Potions and Defence. All right then, I'll call him then."

Brianna chuckled as her mother left their quarters to speak with their dungeons neighbour. She ran into Harry's room and quickly informed her brother about her mother's feelings towards the Potions Master.

"She'll have to be very tough then. I can't see him admit to any feelings," Harry replied, groaning inwardly as his Head of House stepped into the room.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Brianna had to admit to herself that her brother had been right. Even after Kathy took her OWLs at the end of the school year, the relationship between her mother and her Head of House seemed to remain unchanged. On the other hand, they still brewed potions together during the summer holidays, and whenever Harry was sick, Snape came to check on him and often remained to have tea with Kathy and Brianna.

"I wonder how we could get Snape to talk with Mum," Brianna said to Harry one afternoon, when Kathy was attending a staff meeting.

"Are you still at that?" Harry queried in disbelief. "Snape probably doesn't want any relationship, although I have to admit that he is really nice to Mum and also to us when he's here. Anyway, both of them are adults, and we shouldn't try to meddle. If Snape doesn't want Mum, we won't be able to do anything about it anyway."

However, the twins couldn't help noticing that their mother and their Head of House would make a good couple and wondered if there was a way they could help the two to at least speak with each other about the matter. Yet before they could make a plan, on the twins' birthday something happened that should make them forget about the topic for a while.

Kathy allowed them to invite all of their friends for their birthday, and the twins busied themselves writing many invitations to all their Slytherin classmates as well as a few friends from other Houses like Hermione and Neville. Their birthday was a bright and sunny day, and Brianna and Harry decided to hold their party out on the grounds instead of inside their quarters.

Hermione was the first to arrive with a Portkey that Professor Snape had kindly provided for Brianna and Harry, followed by Draco, who was accompanied by his father, a tall man with surprisingly long, blond hair. Although Mr. Malfoy congratulated them and handed each of them a present, Harry couldn't help immediately disliking the man, especially when he added, "This is a reward for you for curing the werewolves."

The party was much fun. The house-elves had prepared a huge buffet along with a birthday cake in the form of a huge Snitch with large golden wings that were made of orange sherbet. As soon as they had eaten as much as they could, everyone except for Hermione and Neville hurried towards Madam Hooch's broom cupboard and began to play Quidditch. Only when their guests had left and the Mackenzies returned to their quarters, Brianna and Harry found time to open their presents. They received many books, sweets and other useful items, such as two black diaries.

"They are from Mr. Malfoy," Harry remembered. "Does he think we should write diaries?"

"Writing a diary is a good idea, Harry," Kathy replied on her way to open the door for her colleagues, whom she had invited to her quarters for the birthday dinner.

_

* * *

tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments and sorry for the delay!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	16. Diaries

**16 – Diaries**

After dinner, Kathy and her colleagues had tea together, while Brianna and Harry busied themselves with their presents. Seeing that Harry interestedly skimmed a potions book, Brianna decided, "I'm going to write into my diary."

"Oh, that's a good idea," Harry agreed and went to fetch his quill. For two minutes, the two students quietly pondered what to write. '_I am Harry_,' Harry finally began. '_Today is Brianna's and my twelfth birthday_.' He looked up in confusion, when Brianna let out a small gasp.

"The diary replies," she said in confusion.

"No," Harry replied, feeling slightly disappointed. "Mine doesn't write back." He glanced at Brianna's book, chuckling when he read the first sentence.

'_I am Brianna Mackenzie, and today is Harry's and my twelfth birthday_.' However, under her sentence a different handwriting said, '_Hello Brianna. I am Tom Riddle_.'

"Tom Riddle?" he read in disbelief. "Who's that?" Suddenly, he felt everyone's eyes turned to himself.

Snape strode around the table, holding his hand out for the diary. "Give this to me," he demanded, paling visibly as he glanced at the writing. "Where did you get this?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Mr. Malfoy gave us these diaries," Brianna replied hesitantly, pointing to Harry's. "Harry didn't get a reply though."

"Severus, let's take both books with us," the Headmaster spoke up. "I am sorry, Brianna and Harry, but something seems to be very wrong with them. At least the one that shows a reply seems to be a dark magical object." With that Dumbledore and Snape excused themselves and left through the fireplace.

"Excuse me, but who is Tom Riddle?" Kathy asked in surprise, casting her colleagues a questioning look.

McGonagall let out a long sigh, before she replied, "Tom Riddle is the birth name of "You-Know-Who."

"But how can he... I thought he was gone?" Harry stammered in confusion.

"I have no idea," McGonagall said thoughtfully. "However, rest assured that Professors Dumbledore and Snape will find out and if necessary destroy the dark objects. Do you want me to make new diaries for the two of you?" she asked gently, pulling two tissues out of her robe pocket.

"No, thank you, Professor," Brianna and Harry replied simultaneously. After the experience, neither of them was in the mood to begin writing another diary.

"Come with me," Brianna whispered and pulled Harry into his room. "Did you see Mum when Snape went with the Headmaster? She seemed very disappointed and lonely all of a sudden. I think she still likes Snape."

Harry sighed as he sat next to his sister on the edge of his bed. "Brianna, there is nothing we can do to help her," he said, feeling slightly annoyed by the recurring topic. "I can't imagine that he's interesting in an affair with a woman."

"You should see them together when you're sick, Harry. Last month, Mum was so worried about you, and Snape spoke with her and consoled her. He behaved as if he was your father. It was as if we were a real family. But then at other times, he is so inapproachable as if he was a complete stranger."

Harry shrugged helplessly. "If you have an idea what we can do, I'm willing to help of course, but I don't have a clue. By the way, why do you think that Mr. Malfoy gave the diaries to us?"

"I once eavesdropped on Mum and Snape," Brianna admitted thoughtfully, "and I think they said that he was a Death Eater. A follower of the Dark Lord. And he said something about a present because we cured the werewolves. Perhaps he didn't like that. Oh well, I'm glad that Snape was there and took the books from us." She jumped up from the bed and said in a lighter tone, "I'm hungry. Let's get some more of our birthday cake."

HP

A week after the twins' birthday, the Headmaster asked the Mackenzies to come to his office after dinner. To Harry's relief, Snape was there as well. '_I don't know why, but I trust him more than the Headmaster_,' he thought as he absentmindedly declined when Dumbledore offered him a lemon drop.

"We examined the two diaries," the Headmaster began his explanation. "While one of them seems to be a normal book that was just made to look the same way as the other, the other diary was indeed a dark and very dangerous object. Professor Snape and I did some research, and we assume that the diary was indeed Voldemort's. Apparently, he made a so-called Horcrux, in which he buried one part of his soul. We believe that Mr. Malfoy wanted to help him get back into life by making you use his diary." He looked sternly at Brianna and Harry as he continued, "I am telling you this for a reason. I am not sure why he gave the diary to you, unless he has figured out that you're Harry Potter; however, the two of you have to be very careful."

"We will," Brianna and Harry said immediately.

"We assume," the Headmaster continued, "that Voldemort made a few more Horcruxes, probably even up to seven. If you ever come across any dark object, call Professor Snape or me immediately, without touching it let alone examining it by yourself. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Professor," Brianna replied.

"Yes sir," Harry echoed, observing Fawkes on his perch from the corner of his eyes. '_He is a wonderful bird_,' he thought. '_If I ever manage to become an Animagus, I'll try to become a phoenix like Fawkes_.'

HP

The thought of becoming an Animagus did not leave Harry's mind, and in the morning, he spoke with his sister about the matter.

"Let's try," Brianna said with excitement. "Let's go to the library and get some information about how to do it, and then we can begin practising."

Harry rolled his eyes at his sister's eagerness. "Don't tell anyone about it," he warned her. "I'm sure McGonagall wouldn't like it if we just tried on our own."

"I won't," Brianna promised, her black eyes twinkling mischievously.

During the last month of the holidays, the twins spent much time in the library, especially when their mother was working in her office to prepare for her classes or attending staff meetings. '_If she knew how frequently we were studying in the library, she'd get suspicious_,' Harry thought as he ran through the empty halls after Brianna, looking up startled when he bumped into something soft.

It was Professor Lupin. "Oh, I'm sorry, Professor," Harry said quickly.

"No problem, Harry," Lupin said gently. "Are you going to study in the library again?"

"Um... yes," Harry stammered, wondering if he could tell the ex-werewolf the truth.

Apparently sharing his thought, Brianna, who had turned around to join her brother and the professor, whispered, "We're doing some research about Animagi, but please don't tell anyone."

Lupin nodded in understanding. "I won't tell. In fact, my three best friends learned to become Animagi when they were your age, in order to join me out on the grounds during the full moon. However, it is not easy, and it took them three years to manage the Transformation. Please promise that you're careful and that you never try alone. Always practise together, so that one of you can call for help if the other is in trouble."

"We will," the twins said firmly and excitedly followed the professor into the library.

Lupin skimmed the Transfiguration shelf, pulling an old tome out. "If I remember correctly, this is what my friends used. You're both good at Potions, aren't you? There is a potion that makes you turn into your animal just once, so that you know what to try for."

"Wow, that sounds cool," Brianna said in amazement, quickly taking the book from the professor.

Harry chuckled at her impulsiveness. "Thank you very much, Professor Lupin."

"You're welcome. Good luck," Lupin said, smiling as he left the library.

Brianna carried the heavy book to a table, and the twins hurriedly skimmed the slightly yellow pages. "Here!" Brianna said excitedly. "That must be the potion."

"That's true. The only problem is, where and when can we brew it? I don't think Snape will allow us to brew something like that."

"We can say that we can't tell him what we want to brew and promise that it isn't dangerous. Maybe he'll say yes. If he doesn't allow us to use the classroom, we can still take the Floo home and brew in the kitchen," Brianna said, chuckling. "Let's borrow the book, so that we can read it in your or my room."

They copied the recipe onto a harmless looking parchment and asked their Head of House at dinner if they could use the Potions classroom for an hour, knowing that the teachers were going to have a staff meeting after dinner.

"If you do not brew anything dangerous, you may," Snape said, only to add sternly, "If the classroom does not exactly look like before when you leave, I'm going to use your limbs for potions ingredients."

"Yes sir," the twins replied, inwardly chuckling at their luck that the professor didn't ask what they wanted to brew. During the following two hours, they busied themselves in the Potions classroom, brewing two doses of the Animagus potion.

"Shall we try it out immediately?" Brianna asked eagerly when they returned to their quarters.

"All right then, let's do it in my room," Harry agreed, confirming with a look at his wrist watch that it would probably take at least thirty minutes, before their mother was going to come home. '_I can't wait either_,' he thought. '_I hope it'll be magical animals, and I hope we're going to have the same forms_.'

_

* * *

tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments - I really appreciate them!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	17. Ups and Downs

**17 – Ups and Downs**

"You go first, Harry," Brianna said, motioning for Harry to sit on his bed and take the potion.

"It's all right; you can do it first," Harry said, knowing that his sister couldn't wait to try the Animagus potion.

"No. I don't know if it works to wish something, but I'd love to see your form and wish to become the same animal," Brianna replied firmly.

Harry agreed and hesitantly eyed the small phial in his hand. '_I wish to become a phoenix_,' he thought as he downed the lime green liquid in one large gulp. Instants later, he felt his body transform. '_Ouch, that hurts_,' he thought, curiously glancing around. His sister, who was standing in front of him looking at him in obvious amazement, seemed strangely tall. Looking down his own body, he saw wings, lots of green wings.

"You're a phoenix, Harry," Brianna finally managed to find words. "That's absolutely amazing. You look beautiful. You're completely green with light and dark blue feathers in the back. We need to go to the library and find out what type of phoenix you are. You look very different from Fawkes."

'_I did it! I'm a phoenix. That's too cool_,' Harry thought in absolute delight. However, before he could even try to make a few uncertain steps, he automatically changed back into his human form. "Wow, that was cool," he said in amazement. "Now I want to see your form."

Brianna chuckled and took Harry's spot, greedily gulping down the potion. Instants later, she transformed into a phoenix as well. However, her feathers were completely black; only her tail feathers had the same different shades of blue like Harry's.

#Am I a phoenix, too?# she trilled excitedly. #Do I look good?#

Harry couldn't help laughing. "Yes Brianna, you look wonderful," he said, observing as his sister transformed back, which was not a minute too early, because Kathy chose that instant to enter his room.

"Here you are," she said, smiling. "Is everything all right?"

"Of course; everything is fine," Brianna replied calmly, unobtrusively burying the two empty phials under Harry's pillow.

HP

From the next day onwards, Brianna and Harry tried to change their left hands into their phoenix wings like the book that they had borrowed instructed them. However, they noticed soon that it was very difficult, and by the time the holidays ended, neither of them had managed to produce as much as one single black or green feather. With the beginning of the new school year, their second Hogwarts year, the twins didn't have much opportunity to practise the Animagus transformation, knowing that their Head of House didn't appreciate it if they spent the evenings at home instead of in the Slytherin common room. Only when Harry was sick or during the weekends, Snape did not mind them returning to their mother's quarters.

However, it was only at the end of the summer holidays that Brianna all of a sudden managed to spike short, black feathers on her left hand. "Wow, that looks funny. I didn't even change my hand into a wing, but I have feathers."

"That's really strange, but also cool," Harry said, admiring his sister's hand. "Can you change that back, before Mum sees you?"

Brianna chuckled and instants later, her hand was back to normal. "Too bad that everyone is going to come back tonight," she said regretfully. "We won't have much time to practise anymore, especially since we're going to be third years now."

"Maybe we will," Harry said in a small voice. "I think I'm getting sick."

Brianna looked at him in shock. "I didn't mean it like that. No, wait. Are you feeling unwell?" She gave him a sharp look, noticing that his face was paler than normal and small beads of sweat were building on his forehead. "I'm going to get Mum," she said in determination and strode towards the door.

"No Brianna, don't," Harry said firmly, quickly grabbing her elbow to keep her back. "She'd only make a fuss as usual, and it's not so bad," he tried to convince his sister, totally fed up by the thought of becoming sick yet again, especially at the beginning of the new school year. "Shall we go and distribute chocolate frogs from our self-refilling box on everyone's night tables?" he suggested, efficiently distracting his sister with the idea.

During the hour until the Welcoming Feast, the twins busied themselves distributing chocolate frogs all over Slytherin, chuckling at the thought how everyone would wonder where the frogs came from, since hardly any Slytherin had been present when they had won the self-refilling box for the snowman building contest one and a half years ago. With the arrival of his classmates, Harry became distracted from the Animagus practice; however, when he was lying in his bed in the Slytherin dormitory later in the evening, he recalled the previous events.

'_Why is it always Brianna, who manages everything first?_' he thought in annoyance, absentmindedly rubbing his achy forehead. '_Well, it doesn't really matter, but I want to try to keep up with it_,' he resolved, deciding to practise alone in the evenings. '_When I'm in bed, no one will see me, and it doesn't matter_,' he thought. He practised for an hour, trying in vain to transform his left hand or at least spike green feathers, and finally gave up, noticing that his efforts only aggravated his headache.

The first day of classes passed uneventfully, except for the fact that Brianna and Harry both regretted that they had taken Ancient Runes, which seemed to be a lot of work in comparison to Divination, of which their classmates told them that they could just make things up like they wanted. Harry was glad when his last afternoon class was over. So far, he had managed to drag himself through the day in spite of feeling sick and he intended to do so for the following two days, knowing that they were going to have Quidditch tryouts on Saturday; however, he felt that it was difficult to concentrate on his work due to his splitting headache. Brianna was observing him with utmost concern, and Harry had to reassure her that it wasn't as bad as it seemed to look, in order to prevent her from dragging him to their mother or their Head of House.

By the time he woke up in the morning, he felt so awful that he couldn't deny that he was ill anymore. His ears, throat and chest were sore, but the worst were his head and eyes. '_I need to ask the professor for a potion; otherwise, I'll be stuck in the hospital wing for ages_,' he thought in desperation. He slowly tried to sit up, groaning in frustration as the room began to tilt and he felt sick immediately. Holding on to the wall, he slowly dragged himself out of the room, not even bothering to put shoes or robes over his pyjamas. Sighing in relief as he saw that the common room was still empty that early in the morning, he slowly made his way out into the halls, shivering violently as the cold dungeon air hit his body. Heavily leaning against the wall, he weakly knocked at his Head of House's door. '_I hope he is already up. I don't even know what time it is_,' he mused, while he waited for the professor to open the door.

"Mr. Mackenzie, what is wrong?" Snape queried as he gently led the boy inside and made him sit on the chair behind his desk, waving his wand at the door to close and lock it.

"It's probably vertigo again," Harry breathed, trying his best not to get sick in the professor's office.

Snape cast him a sharp look, before he pointed his wand at the boy's head and frowned. "You might be suffering from vertigo again, but that alone wouldn't cause such a high fever." Seeing that Harry was on the verge of throwing up, he quickly conjured a bucket, not a second too early, because right then Harry's stomach decided to get rid of its sparse contents.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry mumbled, feverishly gripping the edge of the desk to keep himself upright.

"No problem, Mr. Mackenzie," Snape said gently and transfigured the chair into a small bed, watching Harry sigh in relief as he was able to lie down. He thoughtfully cast an overall diagnostic spell, his eyes widening at the results. "How long have you been feeling sick, Mr. Mackenzie?" he queried in disbelief.

"Two days or so," Harry mumbled, feeling too miserable to care if the professor was going to give him toads.

However, Snape seemed too concerned to even think about punishment. "You caught pneumonia," he informed his student. "I'll be back in a moment."

Harry closed his eyes, reassured that the professor was going to help him feel better soon. He was just about to drift off into a fevered slumber, when Snape returned with Kathy in tow.

"Harry," he heard his mother's voice and felt her sit on the edge of the bed.

"Mum," he mumbled, knowing that he had never felt so bad before. He tuned in and out of the conversation between the two adults.

"He can't stay at home. Either Poppy or I need to check on him on an hourly basis," Snape said sternly. "I could do that in the dormitory; however, he might be exposed to more germs and viruses than his system can handle, which is the problem with the hospital wing as well. Therefore..."

"... enter anytime..."

Before Harry could hear more, he drifted off to sleep. After a short discussion, the adults decided to ask the house-elves to make a temporary connecting door from Harry's room to Severus' living room, so that the Potions Master would be able to check on him whenever necessary. Harry remained very ill for a few days. Although he slept most of the time, whenever he woke up, Kathy, Severus or Brianna were at his side and tried to make him drink potions, water or pumpkin juice. Only twice, he woke up alone, but Severus entered his room to check on him seconds later, lured into Harry's room by an alarm, which he had cast on the boy.

One day, he finally felt more alert and considerably better. He was even able to stay awake and speak with Brianna for a few hours. "Tomorrow was supposed to be the first Hogsmeade visit," she said, giving him a sad smile, "but I'm glad that you're at least getting better now. We were so worried about you."

Harry reached for his sister's hand that still felt very cold compared to his own. "Brianna, go to Hogsmeade with Hermione, Blaise of whomever. Please go; I'd feel worse if you stayed here and missed it than if you went alone. Otherwise, I'm going to sneak out and go with you."

"You can't do that," Brianna replied, looking at her brother in shock. "You're still very ill. The potions should have worked much sooner. They're not sure..."

"Brianna, I mean it," Harry said impatiently, already beginning to feel dizzy again. "Promise that you'll go."

"All right, I'll go," Brianna reassured him, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"That's good," Harry mumbled and contentedly closed his eyes.

'_Thank Merlin she agreed to go; I wouldn't be able to leave the castle_,' he realised when he woke up on Saturday afternoon, wondering when Brianna was going to come back. However, even a few hours later, neither Brianna, nor Kathy nor Snape had come to check on him, and Harry felt his potions wear off. '_Snape always comes to give me the next dose; he'll be here soon_,' he told himself, unconsciously knowing that something was very wrong.

Finally, Snape rushed into Harry's room, and even if he was wearing his usual blank mask, Harry could see utmost concern behind it.

"Professor, what's wrong? Where are Brianna and my mother?" he asked urgently.

_

* * *

tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments - I really appreciate them!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	18. Attack

**18 – Attack**

Snape cast a few spells, waving his wand over Harry in a quick succession, before he let himself sink onto the chair next to the bed and gave the boy a sharp look. '_His condition is still too fragile to tell him the truth; however, this is too bad to hide it from him_,' he mused, before he let out a long sigh and said in his soft, baritone voice, "Harry, your sister had an accident. Mr. Malfoy attacked her, and we have yet to find out what is wrong."

Harry struggled to sit up in panic. "Where is she? I need to..."

Severus pushed the boy back into a lying position, trying to remain calm, although his thoughts were going haywire. "Harry, if you set as much as a foot out of this bed, I'm going to use your limbs for potions ingredients," he said, glaring at the boy. "Brianna is in her own room, and Madam Pomfrey and a Healer from St. Mungo's are with her to find out what exactly the spell did. Your mother is there as well, but I'll ask her to keep you company for a while. You wouldn't be able to speak with your sister at the moment anyway."

"Professor!" Harry reached for the older wizard's cold hand. "Please help Brianna and keep me updated."

"I will," Severus replied as he pressed a phial against Harry's lips, making a mental note to urgently brew more of the pneumonia potion. He remained at his little snake's side, until Harry succumbed to the potions and drifted off into a much needed healing sleep.

'_I hope Brianna will be all right_,' Severus thought, pointing his wand at the card on the night table to transfer his diagnostic results. '_I can't even tell anyone, let alone Kathy or Harry, how worried I am, because no one is supposed to know that she is my daughter_.' He slowly brought his forefingers up to massage his temples. '_What am I implying here?_' he scolded himself, shaking his head in annoyance. '_I don't even know if she is my daughter_.' Seeing that Harry was peacefully asleep, he cast an alarm on the boy as usual, so that he would be alerted if he woke up, had breathing problems or his fever spiked, before he left the room in the direction of Brianna's room.

Poppy and her colleague from the wizarding hospital were still waving their wands over the girl. Severus stepped over to Kathy, who looked up to him and asked in a thin voice, "How is Harry, Sev?"

Severus was tempted to lay his arm around his colleague's shoulders, but he resisted the urge and instead spoke in a soft voice. "Not much of a change since this morning. He is getting better but still very ill, and I'm afraid that the news, which I had to tell him, won't help to speed up his recovery. At the moment, he is asleep due to the potions I gave him; however, when he wakes up, he will want to see his sister, which I don't recommend. Maybe you could spend some time with him later on." He sighed, before he added, "I only told her that she was attacked, but not that she is in a coma."

"That's better," Kathy agreed in a small voice. "Thank you, Severus, for all that you're doing for my children and me."

"I wish I could do more," Severus replied absentmindedly, more to himself than to Kathy, as he turned his eyes to the girl in the bed.

Brianna was laying there, completely unmoving. Her face was as white as the pillow under her head, and she had dark rings under her eyes. '_You can't deny that she is your daughter. You can sense it, and she looks like you_,' a small voice at the back of his head told him. Severus decided to ignore the annoying little voice, when the older Healer turned to him.

"As it seems, there is only one way to help the girl out of the coma," he said in a grave voice. "We must know the spell that was cast on Ms. Mackenzie."

Severus tuned out the following conversation. "Cicero!" he called his personal house-elf. "Fetch Draco Malfoy into my office immediately," he ordered the elf, before he turned towards the door as Cicero popped away. On his way out of the room, he excused himself, "I'll try to find out something about the spell." He quietly strode through Harry's room to return to his own quarters and stepped into his office, only an instant before Draco Malfoy knocked at the door. He motioned for his godson to take a seat, while he lowered himself onto the chair behind his desk.

"Draco," he slowly began to speak, once again massaging his temples in a faint attempt to get rid of the headache that seemed to get worse by the hour. "We urgently need to know what spell your father used when he attacked Brianna Mackenzie at Hogsmeade. Do you have any method to retrieve this information?"

"I could ask my house-elf," Draco spoke up, deep in thoughts. "Dobby won't know, but he could ask my father's elves and try to find out something."

Severus slowly rubbed his forehead, before he summoned a small phial from one of the shelves and downed a headache potion in one large gulp. "Is Dobby bonded to you or to your father?" he queried, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Draco said uncertainly. "Probably to father, although he always looks after me. I'm not sure. Maybe both of us."

Unbeknownst to Severus, Harry had woken up as he strode through his room, and the boy had quietly followed him in order to find out more about his sister's accident. At this point, he couldn't restrain himself and said aloud, "Draco, why don't you just call your house-elf and ask him?"

Severus turned around, rose from his chair and towered over the boy. "Mr. Mackenzie, what are you doing here in spite of my clear instructions to stay in bed? One toad for your insolence. Get back into bed this instant."

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is too important," Harry said hoarsely and turned to Draco in expectance.

An instant later, a small creature popped up in front of Draco, bowing deeply. "Dobby, to whom exactly are you bonded?" Draco asked sharply.

"To Master Lucius and Master Draco," Dobby replied eagerly. "What cans Dobby dos for Master Draco?"

"Draco," Harry threw in, ignoring the glare that he received from the Potions Master, "give him a sock and free him. I will pay him, so that he can still work for you as a free elf. Otherwise, he won't be able to betray your father..." He stopped talking, ending up in a coughing fit.

Draco cast the professor an enquiring look. "What do you think of this, sir?"

Severus let out a sigh. "Draco, I believe that Harry is right, although I'm going to assign him detention if he doesn't get out of my sight instantly."

Apparently realising that the professor was getting angry, Harry turned around and dragged himself back into his room, while Draco hesitantly pulled his left sock off. "Here, Dobby," he said, handing the sock to the elf.

The small elf accepted the sock and with absolute delight cheered, "Dobby is free. Draco Malfoy set Dobby free. Dobby wills now works for Harry Mackenzie, the saver of the werewolves."

"Dobby," Draco said warningly, "I set you free, because I need your help. You must find out what spell father cast at Brianna Mackenzie, Harry's sister at Hogsmeade this morning."

"Dobby wills finds out for the wonderful Harry Mackenzie. Dobby wills be back soon," the elf squealed happily and popped away with a loud crack.

"What's wrong with Brianna, sir?" Draco queried, looking at the professor in concern.

Severus glanced at his wrist watch, inwardly sighing in relief when Dobby reappeared, handing him a small parchment. Severus quickly unfolded the parchment and looked at the explanation, his eyes widening in shock as he read. "Draco, please go and check on Harry. He needs to stay in bed. Tell him that I'm going to be in my private lab for two hours, in case he or his family need me."

Draco hurried away, and Severus strode into his lab. A few minutes later, he was pulling out ingredients, driven by some invisible force that made him act automatically. '_How did I get here, and when did I prepare these ingredients?_' he wondered at some stage, completely wrapped up in thoughts. He was just about to set up his best golden cauldron, when the alarm that he had placed on Harry alerted him that the boy needed him. '_Not now_,' he thought in annoyance and hurried into the boy's room.

Harry was sitting in his bed gasping for air, while Poppy tried to make him use an inhaler and a tear-stricken Kathy tried to calm him. Kathy looked up, sighing as if she felt consoled upon his sight. "Severus, Brianna is going to die," she sobbed, causing Severus to raise an eyebrow.

"The elf brought this parchment to Harry a few minutes ago, and Poppy told me that the spell was going to shut down Brianna's whole system. The only method to save her was to give her a special potion that has to be laced with a blood relatives' blood; however, Poppy told me that my blood is not compatible with Brianna's. Harry's would be compatible, but as long as he is so ill, it won't work, and by the time he is well enough, it might be too late," Kathy explained in a thin voice that was barely understandable between her sobs.

Severus looked at his colleague in shock. '_I was just about to begin brewing the potion, but if her blood is incompatible, it won't work, and Harry will need at least a week, before he'll be well enough to make the potion have the desired effect. Maybe I should... but will it even work with my blood? I don't even know if she's really my daughter_.' His thoughts went haywire, before Poppy's voice brought him back to reality.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments - I really appreciate them!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_

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_

_**To my readers of LORD OF THE WIND**: I'm sorry, but I'm not able to update LotW today due to health problems. Hopefully tomorrow. (I could only post this one, because I wrote it a few days ago).  
_


	19. Revealing

**19 – Revealing**

"Severus," Poppy said urgently, "is there any potion, which you can brew for Harry to speed up his recovery? I believe that we have to give Brianna the blood potion within forty-eight hours; otherwise, it might be too late. Perhaps Kathy can go and speak with Albus about the matter. Maybe we can find someone, whose blood is compatible, even if the person is not blood related. I doubt that it will work, but..."

"Poppy, first of all, there is no potion that would speed up Harry's recovery. The only way for his condition to improve was if he stayed in bed." He glared at the boy, who returned a terrified look. "Secondly, there is no need to find anyone else. Please do a quick check to see if my blood is compatible."

Kathy and Poppy looked at the Potions Master in shock. However, Poppy immediately turned back into Healer's mode and waved her wand at Severus, her eyes widening at the result. "Severus, go and brew," she said shortly, causing Kathy to eye the Healer in surprise.

"Poppy," she asked, bewildered, "does that mean that Severus' blood is compatible with Brianna's and he'll be able to save her?"

"It seems so," Poppy replied thoughtfully. "I think that Severus owes you an explanation, although I'm not sure if he has any. Please stay with Harry and keep an eye on him. I'll look after Brianna. The potion will take between one and two hours to brew. Please call me when Severus returns or Harry needs me." Muttering to herself, the Mediwitch bustled out of the room.

Kathy stared behind the older witch. "I don't understand a word," she said, shaking her head in confusion.

Harry sighed as he shut the inhaling machine off and lay back. "Perhaps that means that Snape is Brianna's father," he said hoarsely, reaching for his mother's hand.

Kathy used her free hand to worriedly feel Harry's forehead. "Are you delirious?" she queried, looking at her son in concern, before she quietened down, deep in thoughts.

_**(Flashback 30th of September 1979)**_

Kathy was lying on some soft underground, totally in shock about what had just happened. It was completely dark around them, and she couldn't see anything. She only sensed that he was still there.

"I hope that I did not physically hurt you," he suddenly said in a soft, silky voice, causing her to stare into the darkness in surprise.

'_How can someone say that after raping me?_' she thought in confusion as the voice continued to speak.

"You might not believe me, but I am very sorry for what I did to you. I have been forced to do this and in fact I am supposed to kill you, but since no one will know I'm going to let you go."

Kathy couldn't hold the tears back that began to spill from her eyes and hissed, "You bastard. You may be sorry, but I'll never forgive you for what you did to me."

_(End of flashback)_

Kathy couldn't suppress a sob, Severus' voice still ringing in her ears. '_It was him_,' she thought, feeling absolutely terrified. '_How could he..._'

"Mum?" Harry's soft voice pulled her back to reality. "Mum, Brianna will be all right. If Professor Snape thinks that he'll be able to save her, then he will manage. I completely trust him. It'll be all right."

Harry's kind words only made the tears run faster. '_How dare he not tell me, getting so close to me, causing me to fall in love with him, and still not tell me?_' she thought. '_Maybe that's why he was so distanced all the time. I don't know what to think anymore_.' She lay down next to Harry and pulled him close like she had done when he was a small child. "Harry," she whispered into his ear, please don't speak with anyone about this, but you're probably right. I only just realised that Professor Snape must be Brianna's father."

"I won't tell anyone," Harry whispered back, leaning into his mother's embrace. "Mum, I'm sorry. Brianna didn't want to go to Hogsmeade, but I more or less forced her to go by telling her if she wouldn't, I'd sneak out and go. I'm sorry. I didn't want her to get hurt."

"That's not your fault, sweetie. It was nice of you to tell her to go with your friends, even if you couldn't," Kathy replied softly.

"At least, Professor Snape will be able to save Brianna," Harry mumbled sleepily, causing Kathy to gently caress his hot cheeks.

"I hope so," she said softly, thinking to herself that she would never want to see the girl's father again.

However, her wish was not going to become reality. A few minutes after Harry drifted off to sleep, Severus strode into the room, taking in the scene in surprise. "You better get out of your son's bed, if you don't want to get sick," he said in a soft voice, causing Kathy to cast him a glare.

"I don't care," she said icily as she carefully freed herself and stood up.

"Brianna's potion is ready," Severus continued in the same soft voice, ignoring her outburst. "I will go and administer it now."

Like in a trance, Kathy followed the tall wizard into her daughter's room. Severus and Poppy exchanged a glance, before Severus handed her a phial with a wine red potion. With a flick of her wand, Poppy spelled the potion straight into Brianna's system, and the three adults observed the girl with utmost concern.

"Did the potion work?" Kathy asked impatiently, thinking, '_As much as I hope that Severus is not Brianna's father, her recovery is the most important thing_.'

Poppy once again waved her wand over the girl, sighing in relief. "Yes, it worked. She is not in a coma anymore but peacefully asleep. She needs a lot of rest after this ordeal, but other than that she is completely fine. I assume that the two of you have much to speak about, so I'm going to leave you now. I'll be back to check on your daughter in the evening." With a smile on her face, the Healer left the room, leaving Kathy and Severus alone.

Kathy tried hard to fight the tears, tears of relief because Brianna was going to be all right and tears of disappointment because of finding out that the very person, whom she would not have wanted to be the girl's father, was the one, who had raped her at that time. "Thank you for saving Brianna," she said quietly, averting her eyes to the floor.

Severus slightly inclined his head, before he spoke up in a soft voice. "I'm glad that it worked. Brianna is a wonderful child." He stared at his daughter's pale face, uncertain what to say in that situation. "I am sorry," he finally said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

"I know," Kathy replied in a barely audible voice. "I'm sorry, too. I wished it would have been someone else. Why didn't you tell me much earlier?" She hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Before I came here and fell in love with you, with the one man who raped me fourteen years ago."

"I wasn't sure," Severus stammered. "I love you, Kathy, and I hoped that it wasn't true, that Brianna wasn't my daughter."

Kathy couldn't hold the tears back anymore and just stood there, sobbing. Severus slowly stepped nearer and pulled a white handkerchief out of his robe pocket, which he held out to her. "I am sorry," he repeated when she took the handkerchief. "I understand if you don't want to speak with me again. Just know," he added in a quiet voice, "that I'll always be here if you or the children need me." With that he strode out of the room and proceeded to check on Harry, before he locked himself into his private lab and followed Kathy's example, until the alarm that he had placed on Harry went off.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments - I really appreciate them!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	20. Feelings

**20 – Feelings**

When Harry woke up, he was alone in his room, and he had the feeling as if it was strangely quiet. '_Brianna_,' he remembered. '_I need to know if she's all right_.' He slowly scrambled out of his bed, holding on to the night table to steady himself against a bout of dizziness. He slowly made his way into his sister's room, sighing in relief when he found her awake.

"Brianna, thank Merlin you're all right," he croaked, lowering himself onto the edge of her bed.

"Harry, what are you doing out of bed?" Brianna asked sternly eyeing her brother with disapproval.

"How are you feeling?" Harry queried, giving her a sharp look.

"Apart from a killer headache, I feel fine. I was attacked in Hogsmeade. Is that right?"

"Exactly," Harry confirmed. "Draco's father cast a dark spell at you, but his elf Dobby found out what it was, and Professor Snape brewed a potion for you and saved you. I think..." He interrupted himself, turning his head towards the door to make sure that no one was nearby, before he whispered, "I think that Professor Snape is your father, Brianna."

"Really?" Brianna asked, excitedly, and sat up, only to let herself sink back right away. "It would be great to have a father," she said in a soft voice, "and mum has a crush on him anyway."

"But he raped her," Harry contradicted vehemently, ending up in a coughing fit.

"Harry, go back to bed. We'll speak about it later," Brianna instructed him, just when their Head of House stepped into the room.

"Mr. Mackenzie, one toad for your ignorance. Which part of 'Do not leave your bed' did you not understand?" the professor asked sharply.

"Sir, is it true that you're my father?" Brianna asked in a soft voice.

"Apparently yes," Snape replied, his expression schooled to a blank mask.

"I'm glad that it's you and not anyone else like Mr. Malfoy," Brianna said softly, smiling at the professor, who looked at her with an emotionless expression.

"If it had been Malfoy, you wouldn't have been born, and your mother wouldn't be alive either," Snape snarled, before he asked in a gentler voice, "How are you feeling, Brianna?"

"May I have a headache potion?" Brianna asked, rubbing her forehead.

"Of course." The professor nodded and handed her a small phial, before he waved his wand over the girl. "Take it easy for a few days. No school until I tell you otherwise, provided that your mother still allows me to check on you."

"Why would she not?" Brianna asked in surprise.

"Because she is very upset about what I did to her, which is completely understandable," Snape replied in a soft voice, before Harry interrupted him firmly.

"But you were forced to do so. If you hadn't obeyed, you would have died along with a lot of other people, whom you could save due to your spying activities."

"Mr. Mackenzie, what are you still doing here?" Snape queried, failing to keep his voice stern.

"Excuse me sir, but my sister has just found the father, whom she never knew, and we're both very happy about it," Harry replied, smiling at his Head of House. "Please speak with our mother. I'm sure she will come around eventually."

HP

'_As if this was so easy_,' Severus thought after accompanying Harry back to his room. '_If she evades me, there is not much I can do about it. I can't force her to anything. It was me who did something unforgivable to her, and not the other way round_.' He let himself sink in his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace and poured himself a glass of fire whisky from a bottle that had been sitting on the bookshelf untouched, since he had received it from the Headmaster several years ago. '_Why did I have to fall in love with her of all people?_' he mused, allowing a couple of tears to run down his cheeks for the first time after his fifth Hogwarts year. '_I thought she was even sharing my feelings, but now she will despise me forever_,' he thought, devastated.

'_Your daughter and her brother said that they're glad you're her father_,' a small voice at the back of his head spoke up, causing him to let out a long sigh.

'_I should officially claim her as my daughter, provided that she agrees_,' he thought, resolving to ask Brianna as soon as she was completely recovered.

However, during the following weeks, the twins were very busy, because they had both missed school for almost two weeks, and Severus decided to postpone his conversation with his daughter until the beginning of the winter holidays, especially since he had not found the opportunity or the courage to speak with her mother yet.

HP

Kathy told herself that she wanted to have nothing to do with Severus anymore. Of course, he was the Head of House of her children as well as her colleague, but she would try to push him out of her mind completely and only speak with him if it was absolutely inevitable. During the staff meetings, she sat as far away from the Potions Master as she could, the same during the meals in the Great Hall if it was somehow possible. However, nearly a dozen times a day, she caught herself pondering what he was just doing or if he was feeling well, and if he happened to be late for dinner or a staff meeting, she unconsciously worried where he was, feeling extremely sad when she heard one or the other of her colleagues excuse the Slytherin with the Headmaster. '_Everything is boring without him_,' the annoying voice at the back of her mind repeatedly informed her on such occasions.

HP

At the beginning of the winter holidays, Severus was still pondering with whom he should speak first, when the circumstances decided about the matter on his behalf. During the last week of classes, Harry had mysteriously lost the grip on his broom and fallen into the lake during Quidditch practice. Knowing what a brilliant flyer Harry was, Severus was still investigating what had caused his fall when Harry came down with the squid's flu due to his accident on the first day of the holidays.

One night, Severus stepped through the connecting door to check on the boy before going to bed, grateful that Kathy had not insisted on vanishing the door, considering how frequently he had to look after a sick Harry. He stopped dead in his tracks, seeing that Kathy was sitting on the edge of her son's bed. Severus eyed her in surprise, knowing that she normally evaded the times, on which he regularly used to check on the boy. He noticed that she did not only look very sad but also seemed to be ill. Her cheeks were deeply flushed, and dark rings surrounded her eyes that were glazed over feverishly. '_Even if she is sick, she looks beautiful_,' Severus mused, regretting deeply that he could not simply pull her into a hug and kiss her to make her feel better.

"You are ill," he stated in a soft voice.

Kathy merely nodded.

"Will you allow me to cast a diagnostic spell?" Severus asked politely. Seeing Kathy wearily nod her agreement, he waved his wand over her, only to confirm his suspicion that she had caught the squid's flu from Harry.

Uncertain if she would allow him to enter her bedroom, he instructed her to go to bed and asked hesitantly, "Do you want me to call Poppy back from St. Mungo's to check on you and give you your potions?"

Kathy looked at him with an expression, which he could not comprehend. '_She looks hurt, but why?_' he wondered, asking, "Or will you trust me that I won't hurt you?"

"I trust you," Kathy responded in a small voice, heavily leaning onto his arm as he helped her into her bedroom.

He made her drink the same potions, which he was giving Harry, followed by a few sips of cold water.

"Severus, I still love you," Kathy whispered, reaching for his cold hand.

"We will speak about everything when you are not delirious anymore," Severus replied slightly colder than intended, ignoring the annoying voice at the back of his head that screamed, _'Tell her you love her, too_.'

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments - I really appreciate them!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	21. Conversations

**21 – Conversations**

_'Delirious?'_ Kathy thought, terrified_. 'Does he imply that I'm saying things, which I don't really mean?'_

"I'm not delirious," she said, indignantly, causing Severus to let out a long sigh.

He pulled a chair over to the side of her bed and lowered himself into the seat, before he slowly began to speak. "Kathy," he said in his soft, silky voice, which she loved so much, "I have never loved a woman since Lily, Harry's birth mother. Only recently, I began to develop feelings for you and realised that I love you. However, I did something unforgettable and unforgivable to you, which doesn't allow me to pursue any relationship to you other than that of mere colleagues."

"Nonsense," Kathy replied, inwardly groaning at the tears that welled up in her eyes. "Yes, I was upset because you didn't tell me earlier, but what happened was not your fault. You were forced to do what you did, and you gave me an adorable daughter. Not only I but also the children need you, not just as their Head of House and professor, but as a father. I know that at that time I told you that I'd never forgive you, but I love you and want you in my life. I haven't forgotten and I never will, because it's part of my life, but I've already forgiven you."

"Don't make yourself so upset," Severus said in a soft voice. "You'll only aggravate your condition."

Kathy let out a snort, which turned into a series of harsh coughs. "The only thing aggravating my condition is your distanced behaviour," she then whispered. "Before it happened... Brianna's accident I mean... we were like a family, but ever since then..." She slowly trailed off, tears now running down her cheeks.

"I apologize," Severus whispered, as he leaned over and gently wiped the tears off her cheek. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me after realising..." He sighed. "We can become a family if that's what you want, Kathy. However, I suggest that you sleep over it and we'll continue this conversation when you'll feel better."

"I want to become a real family, and you know that I'm not delirious. Your potions are absolutely awesome," Kathy replied, smiling.

"Very well, but still you need your rest. So we'll decide about the procedure in a few days' time," Severus insisted.

"Promise?" Kathy queried, once again reaching for his slender, cold hand.

"Promise," Severus replied sincerely and proceeded to hold her hand until she drifted off to sleep with a contented smile playing on her lips.

HP

Slightly hesitating, Severus stepped into his daughter's room and cast a diagnostic spell at Brianna, nodding contentedly at the result that Brianna had, at least so far, not caught the flu. However, knowing that the girl was most likely to spend much time with her sick family members, he summoned a Pepperup potion from his office and spelled it straight into his her system, hoping that it would prevent her from catching the squid's flu. With that he returned to his own quarters, knowing that he was in dire need of sleep as well.

HP

When Severus entered Harry's room to check on the boy first thing in the morning, Brianna was sitting on the edge of her brother's bed, and the two children were talking animatedly.

"Ms. Mackenzie, I suggest that you get ready and accompany me to the Great Hall for breakfast," Severus said gently, before he informed the twins that their mother had taken ill as well.

"Yes Professor," Brianna replied, only to add, "Sir, will Harry and Mum both be all right for Christmas?"

"If they get enough rest, they will," Severus replied and cast Harry a menacing glare, knowing how difficult it was to keep the boy in bed. "If you're bored, Ms. Mackenzie, you're very welcome to spend the day assisting me in the Potions lab," he added as an afterthought, causing his daughter to smile at him, enthusiastically.

"Thank you so much, sir. Of course I'd love to assist," she replied and hurried away.

HP

At first, Severus chose a complex potion, which would make the girl concentrate on the preparation of the ingredients, while he would be able to follow the string of his own thoughts. When it was finished, he made Brianna take a goblet full of the bright orange liquid, explaining that the potion for the squid's flu would not exactly work as preventive potion but would help her body fight the virus before she even knew that she was ill in case she caught it from Harry or Kathy.

After cleaning the workspace, Severus decided to brew a simple fever reducer, knowing that Madam Pomfrey needed a new batch anyway. _'This gives me the opportunity to speak with her. All ingredients are harmless, so that nothing can happen, even if she makes a mistake,'_ he mused, as he laid out the recipe for Brianna in case she did not remember the ingredients yet.

"I know this potion by heart, sir," Brianna said, chuckling. "We brewed it often enough for Harry."

Severus smirked, as he set up his cauldron. "Very well, then I expect that you're able to fully concentrate on preparing the ingredients, whilst I'd like to speak with you about something."

"Yes sir," Brianna replied, casting the professor a curious look, before she diligently set to work.

"Brianna," the professor hesitantly began to speak, "As you heard a few months ago, I'm your father." He slowly turned his eyes to the girl, unsure about how his daughter might react to the topic.

Brianna, however, managed to surprise him by casting him a bright smile. "I know, sir. Harry and I are very happy about it. I think you should speak with Mum though."

Severus smirked. "Your mother and I had a longer conversation last night. However, she was very unwell; therefore, we will speak about the matter again after her recovery. What I'd like to ask you..."

"Wait sir," Brianna interrupted him, excitedly. "Did Mum tell you that she still loves you and wants you to be with her?"

Severus sighed and kept himself from giving a harsh reply with the advice of not interfering in adults' matters. _'It concerns her and Harry as well,'_ he mused and replied, "Yes, we decided to become a family. However..."

Again, his daughter interrupted him rudely by cheering loudly.

"What I was going to ask you," Severus continued what he had wanted to ask earlier, "is to consider if you want me to officially accept you as my daughter."

"Yes please," Brianna replied, immediately. "There is nothing to consider. However..." Her tone became pleading as she continued, "will you adopt Harry too, so that we both have you as our father?"

Severus busied himself inserting the sliced moon fern into the purple liquid, before he said evenly, "If that's what Harry wants, I will do so. I have not talked to him though, as I wanted to speak with you first."

"He'll be delighted," Brianna informed him, smiling broadly. "We've often talked about the matter."

HP

It was only in the morning of Christmas Day that Harry was fully recovered and Severus allowed him and Kathy out of bed. Since Kathy was still not fully all right, Severus excused the Mackenzies and himself with Professor McGonagall from all meals and responsibilities in the Great Hall, and Kathy, Severus and the twins spent the whole day in their quarters talking, reading, resting and brewing potions.

After breakfast, Severus sent Kathy back to bed, promising to wake her up in time for lunch. Knowing that the house-elves had placed all their presents under the Christmas tree in the Great Hall, he reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a cork that had mysteriously found the way into his pocket. Under the watchful eyes of the twins, he transfigured it into a small Christmas tree. "Now are you up to decorating the tree?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Of course," the twins replied, simultaneously, and eagerly set to work.

In the meantime, Severus called Cicero and asked the elf to fetch all of their presents from the Great Hall and put them under the tree that was just being decorated.

A few hours later, after everyone had unwrapped their presents, Severus returned to his own rooms for an instant, before he came back carrying three items that were wrapped in dark green paper. The two larger packages he handed to the children, and Brianna and Harry chuckled upon noticing the fine silver pattern of cats that were moving around the paper, cleaning themselves or doing small cat fights with each other.

Brianna's eyes lit up as she showed Harry her book 'Interesting Potions for Fun'.

"Wow, how cool. Mine is 'Useful Potions to Counter Dark Spells'," Harry spoke up, looking at his Head of House. "Thank you so much Professor," he said, resolving to study the complete book in order to be well prepared if anything ever happened to Brianna again.

Severus slightly inclined his head, before he turned to Kathy and handed her a small gift that immediately drew the attention of both children to the adults. Under the twins' watchful eyes, he spoke up in his soft voice, "Kathy, I would like to ask you to become my wife."

"Yes," Kathy replied immediately, completely distracted and unable to turn her eyes from the beautiful ring in the box in her hand. It was a silver ring with patterns of several magical animals displayed by small stones in a warm green colour. "This is awesome, Severus. Thank you so much."

Kathy and Severus decided to get married by simply filling out the documents and sending them to the Ministry of Magic with Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey as witnesses instead of holding a wedding ceremony. While Kathy was taking a much needed nap in the afternoon, Severus filled out all the paper work, not only for the marriage but also to accept Brianna as his daughter and make Harry his son by adoption. Later, when the small family was enjoying Christmas dinner in their own quarters, all three Mackenzies decided to officially change their last names to Mackenzie-Snape.

HP

_'Now I even have a father. I'm the happiest boy in the world,'_ Harry mused, when he drifted off to sleep later the same day, unaware of the fact that the next few months were going to be anything but pleasant in spite of having a wonderful family.

* * *

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind comments - I really appreciate them!_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes. All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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